Harry Potter Book One:Ambition
by Mistress Slytherin
Summary: My version of Harry Potter, read a/n for details.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so, a few notes about the story- firstly this is the first book of hopefully many to come though I am unsure of how quickly I will get them done. For that reason while I have already finished this, the first book, _and_ had the wonderful beta hikagekittysama** **(yes I finally had someone beta my story) ****check it for mistakes, I will only be putting out one chapter a week. My intent is that hopefully by the time all the chapters for this book are out, I will have completed the second book. That is not to say that this will actually happen but those are my intentions.**

**Now about the story it's self: I am writing the Harry Potter series using the idea of- 'what would happen if _this_ was Harry's mind frame?' Basically that means I'm screwing with Harry's psychology because I am a mind fucker (pardon my French). The books themselves will follow the original timeline as religiously as I can possibly make them and will even include quotations directly from the book though I won't be marking them all individually so consider this my disclaimer and please don't bug me about it****. Of course due to the nature of my version of Harry Potter's character and the changes that occur because of him other character changes were inevitable so don't freak out if you notice that other characters seem different.**

**On a final note please understand that while I rate _this_ book T for violence there will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**(AND IN CASE YOU DIDN'T READ EARLIER)**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Well, I think that just about sums it up, I will make further notations as I think of them at the head of the chapter or on my profile. Let me know what you think!**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 1_

_The Unfortunate Death of Vernon Dursley._

Harry was finished.

The pale shaking ten year old clutched his stomach where he'd been kicked as he stared up at his uncle with pure hatred written in his eyes. He had tried…so many times he had tried to get them to accept him, to get them to at least treat him like a human. He'd made sure that his grades were always prefect, above average, he'd studied late into the night many nights and for all his efforts he received nothing more than sneers for having done better than his cousin. He did all the chores, was polite to everyone, offered to help, made the meals…nothing. He was and always would be _nothing _to them.

So why should he care about them?

The question made him stop, his entire being froze up. Then slowly…very slowly…he warmed to the idea. Why should he care? His uncle sneered at him and tossed him a dirty rag.

"Shrivel up and die you worthless freak." He said before lumbering out of the garage. Harry stared after him allowing the man's words to sink in. For the first time he didn't flinch at the sound of them. For the first time he didn't think to himself how he could have done things better. For the first time, in the entirety of his miserable life he understood that it wasn't him that was the freak, no…the Dursley's were the freaks.

Slowly he made his way towards the small sink and washed the blood from the deep cut in his arm before painstakingly pulling the three nails his uncle had driven into his hand out. He panted as he watched the water in the sink turn red until slowly, but surely the gaping bleeding wounds began to close. He wasn't a freak…no, he was something else…something that everyone else saw except the Dursleys.

_The old woman pat his cheek with a wrinkled hand as he settled her groceries onto the counter. "Thank you so very much young man, it's hard to find chivalry in young people these days. You are a very special young man."_

Special…

He watched the wounds close in fascination as he tasted the word. He was special.

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Harry silently washed the dishes watching as his uncle made his way towards the TV in the living room. It had been two weeks since the incident in the garage, two long weeks of thinking and reassessing his views. He'd never noticed before just how much the Dursleys influenced him before, until he caught himself berating himself worried that they would hate him because he'd made a mistake. It hadn't been easy, no in fact it had been a painful process that he sometimes worried that he would never overcome, but slowly, very slowly he was changing. He'd set rules for himself, boundaries, a mantra that he repeated as often as he could.

He was not a freak

He was special

He was better than them

The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything

Right was the opposite of what they said

He deserved better than this

He smiled faintly to himself as he dried the platter in his hand. Someday, when he was older, he would show them, he would create a place for himself where no one could hurt him.

The phone ringing nearly caused him to drop the platter he was holding and his uncle grumbled from where he sat before answering. "Dursley residence, this is Vernon speaking." He said turning the volume down on the TV. "Ah! Aunt Marge! So good to hear from you!" Harry carefully set down the platter and continued to dry the dishes as quietly as possible. "What? Oh that's-that's terrible! But how? He only just turned thirty in June, I remember because he sent us that postcard- a heart attack? Really? Yes, just like dad…poor fellow. Oh now Aunt Marge I'm as fit as a fiddle! Nothing to worry about here…yes, yes of course I'll come down on the weekend for the funeral- of course I'll bring Dudders- oh he'll be crushed though, always did love his uncle…yes, yes of course I understand. Yes, I'll talk to you later." Harry listened to the sound of the phone being hung up before turning the water back on and continuing his chores. Idly he thought about the conversation, he would probably be left with miss Figg if they didn't take him along- he'd never heard that Vernon's dad had died from a heart attack…of course Vernon probably didn't think of it as a very manly way to go.

"Boy! Get me a beer!" Harry frowned and turned off the water before doing as he was told only to stop as he retrieved the pork rinds his Uncle liked to snack on with his beer. A cold terrible thought crossed his mind as he slowly opened the bag and poured a great amount into the bowl. He stared at it for a long moment.

He was not a freak

He was special

He was better than them

The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything

Right was the opposite of what they said

**He deserved better than this**

A decision was formed in his mind at that moment.

No one would know…no one would suspect it at all.

It was Vernon's choice and he was just the poor doting nephew…He could do this…and Vernon would never hurt him again. Harry hid the slight trembling in his hands as he carried the beer and snacks into the living room. "What took you so long boy?" His uncle groused shifting his large form into the couch.

"I'm sorry about your uncle sir…would you like something else with your drink? I was going to make fried chicken for dinner but if you want I could make it for you now and make something else for dinner." Vernon screwed his red face up in thought before looking at him suspiciously.

"You'd better do that boy, there's a series I want to watch- and make it extra crispy!" He demanded before lifting his beer to his lips and guzzling it. Harry turned quickly to hide his grim expression.

"Yes sir, I'll double fry it." He said clenching his jaw. That night, Harry watched his uncle demolish three half pound fried steaks smothered in thick gravy. With it the man ate half a plate of mashed potatoes that were yellow from the amount of butter Harry had put in it and extra creamy from the healthy dose of mayonnaise he'd added. For desert the man consumed three large pieces of cheese cake. Harry watched with darkening eyes as the man returned to his TV series a plate of steaming greasy bacon wrapped mini sausages in one hand and another beer in the other hand. Harry turned to the sink and began to wash the thick film of fatty grease from the white plate that had once held at least two pounds of double fried chicken.

Harry didn't sleep that night, instead he cried, covering his eyes with his arm in the darkness of his cupboard. He swallowed angrily past the heavy lump in his throat. Again he was crying in the dark because of Vernon Dursley, again he was suffering because of the man, but not for much longer…no, soon he would be free from the man. The next few days found Harry adjusting the Dursley's eating habits. Petunia who nearly always ate salads in order to keep her thin figure and avoided looking at whatever else was on the table in order to avoid the temptation didn't noticed the change in diet. Dudley, who Harry suspected knew very little about heart attacks or really anything else continued to eat heartily not really seeing what was going in his mouth only how much he could fit in his mouth. Harry, who had always run grocery errands for his aunt easily changed the list, whole milk instead of one percent, coffee creamers, lard butter, salt…the more he did it the less guilty he felt and the more determined he became. He began anticipating his uncles wants keeping an eye on the man's snack tray ready to replace it the moment it was empty or to fetch the man's slippers, menial tasks that had before required the man to get up and walk were taken over by Harry.

By the time Friday rolled around Vernon was already frowning as he tried to fit into his pants.

"BOY!" He hollered his face red as Harry walked by with the laundry basket. "You went and shrank my clothes in the wash!" He growled struggling to zip his trousers. Harry pretended to wince.

"Sorry uncle, if you want I can adjust the waist band." He said handing the man a beer. Vernon snatched it away and yanked off his pants.

"Better have it done by the time I leave for work!" He ordered before storming out of the room. Harry lifted the pants and rubbed the material between his thumb and forefingerthe first sign that it was working. Immediately he retrieved his aunts sewing kit and began to add several inches to the waist band. This would do for now but his uncle putting on weight was something his aunt _would _notice even if she rarely looked at her husband any more. He frowned and gazed at the faded material for a moment as a solution came to mind…

Harry hurried down the stairs and handed his uncle the mended trousers before making his way into the kitchen where his aunt was sipping her morning tea and reading a romance novel. "Aunt Petunia?" He said quietly gaining her attention. Immediately she scowled at him.

"What is it boy?" She demanded coldly. Harry winced slightly at the sharp tone.

"I was fixing uncle Vernon's pants and noticed that his clothes are getting a little old…I was just thinking that he might need new ones before we go to the funeral…I mean Aunt Marge might get mad if he's dressed shabbily." He said scratching the back of his head. Aunt Petunia frowned for a moment before looking back at her book and sighing. Harry inwardly smirked as she retrieved her pocketbook and handed him a large wad of bills.

"I'd better see every receipt boy do you hear me? I don't have time to go since I have to start packing and Dudders has that school program later but you'd better not dress your uncle cheaply." She sneered before picking up her book as Harry pocketed the money.

"And finish the dishes before you go!" She snapped in annoyance before becoming absorbed in her book. His aunt's growing laziness and need to keep up her image as the perfect house wife would be her downfall. Quickly he finished the dishes and caught the bus to the local shopping district. Ten sets of slacks, all a size bigger- several dress shirts that he could alter as his uncle gained weight and two sharp looking suits that even his aunt couldn't complain against and he was on his way back to number four. He quickly took the size tags out of the new clothes and replaced them with tags from the old clothes before packing his aunt and uncle's suitcase. Feeling a rush of giddy satisfaction he settled the receipts and the remaining money in the bowl where he usually put the food shopping receipts and neatly wrote his spending into the small note book his aunt used to keep track of where the money went. She always threatened him about the receipts but he'd learned long ago that she hated math, more times than not she would just glance at the book, sneer at him and return to whatever she'd been doing.

"Boy! Get down here and make snacks for Dudders friends, they'll be here soon!" His aunt yelled up at him. Harry scowled before glancing at his uncle's suitcase.

He was not a freak

He was special

He was better than them

The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything

Right was the opposite of what they said

**He deserved better than this**

He smiled and stood. "Coming Aunt Petunia!" He said rushing down the stairs.

Soon…very soon.

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As he'd expected he spent the weekend at Miss Figs house listening to the endless tales of her various cats while his aunt and uncle went to the funeral. Harry amused himself by daydreaming about his uncle eating out every day, craving the fatty diet that Harry had gotten him used to. Of course the man would probably drown his 'sorrows' in liquor along with the rest of his over-sized, overwrought family and make himself so sick come Monday that he'd have to stay home from work. Then Harry, like the doting nephew he was would be sure to give him all the snacks he desired. More than once he caught himself smiling as Miss Fig prattled on.

No one would suspect a thing.

Monday found Harry staring out the window for the first time anticipating the return of the Dursley's. He nearly laughed out loud when he caught sight of his aunt's pinched expression from behind the wheel while Vernon leaned back in the passenger seat with an icepack on his head.

"The Dursley's are back Miss Figg!" He called out as the womantoddled in carrying a set of weak tea.

"Oh? Oh yes of course deary best get back then! Come visit whenever you like!" She said cheerfully before setting the tray down. Harry hid his grin and grabbed his bag.

"Thank you for letting me stay the weekend, sorry if it was a bother!" He said making hisway to the door. Miss Fig smiled widely.

"Think nothing of it dear you're always such wonderful company!" She said waving him off. "Such a polite boy." She muttered as he slipped out the door. Harry schooled his features as he stepped into number four gratefully inhaling the faded smell of bleach preferring it any day to the smell of cabbage and cats.

"Boy! Is that you? Get the luggage and put on some tea for your uncle!" His aunt hollered causing Vernon to moan audibly. Harry smirked and did as he was told.

Soon…very soon.

He smiled as he placed some saltines on the tray. "Coming!" He called pouring the steaming water into the kettle as his harried looking aunt stumbled into the kitchen. Harry handed her a cup of tea as he placed the sugar and creamer on the tray. She took it gratefully and slipped into her chair with a long sigh. Harry carefully lifted the tray and carried it up the stairs accustomed to being ignored.

"S' that you boy?" His uncle said peeking an eye open. Harry carefully closed the door and set the tea tray down on the side table.

"Yes uncle." Harry said quietly before pouring the man his tea. "Is three creamers enough?" He asked wary of the man's short temper.

"Five." His uncle muttered. "And a sleeping tablet, best sleep this off." He said rolling slightly. Harry nodded his head and passed the man his tea. "Oh, and Aunt Marge gave everyone some pills at the funeral…supposed to help prevent heart attacks or some such rot- put them in the cabinet in the bathroom will you?" He said rubbing his eyes as he sipped on his tea. Harry frowned his lips becoming a thin line.

"I'll get them just as soon as I get your sleeping pills uncle." He said before picking up the tray and slipping out of the room. Pills to prevent a heart attack? He grit his teeth and smoothed his expression as he made his way down stairs and into the kitchen where his aunt had fallen asleep in her folded arms at the table. Quietly he slipped the tea set onto the counter and gathered the suitcases.

"Move freak!" Dudley shouted startling Petunia awake as he shoved passed Harry and out the door. "I'm going to Pierce's house mum!" he hollered over his shoulder before slamming the door. Petunia groaned and rubbed her face.

"Uncle Vernon is going to take a sleeping pill and sleep off his headache do you want one too?" Harry asked as he juggled the luggage. Petunia sneered slightly and blinked slowly. "I'll sleep on the couch; get me that pill though will you?" She said tiredly. Harry nodded and carried the suitcases up the stairs setting them down by the bathroom. Carefully he took out the small bottle of pills and frowned. What was he going to do about these? He doubted his uncle would actually take them, but…he sighed and opened the medicine cabinet his eyes scanning the shelves for the sleeping pills only to catch on his aunt's herbal diet pills. For a moment he gazed at them in shock before slowly returning his eyes to the glass bottle in his hand. Shakily he popped the cap and pulled out one of the pills…they were exactly the same as the pills his aunt had gotten nearly a year ago She'd stopped taking them because they weren't doing anything and they'd been sitting here since then. He glanced at the stairs and shakily poured the pills in his aunt's bottle onto the counter replacing them with the ones in his uncle's bottle before scooping the pills on the counter into his uncle's bottle.

"Boy! Bring me that medicine!" His uncle called out from his room. Harry quickly replaced the bottles and pulled out the sleeping pills.

"Coming uncle!" he said hiding his smile.

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It was nearly two months later that it finally happened. Vernon had stayed home because he'd felt dizzy and nauseous. Of course it had been put down to Harry's cooking and food poisoning which Harry secretly couldn't deny. His aunt Petunia had quickly escaped the house to do the food shopping for the first time in a long time and Dudley was at his friends' house playing a new video game. Harry, who had been carrying a tea tray stood in shock his eyes widening as he realized what was happening. His uncle's face was bloated, his eyes bulging out as he jerked his hand clutching his chest. Harry felt a thrill rush through him when panicked eyes landed on him begging him silently. For a moment he almost stepped forward and tried to help, but he froze instead.

How many times had **he** been the one begging for the pain to stop?

How many times had **he** wondered if he would die from the pain?

Slowly a smile drifted across his lips and he shook his head watching his uncle's eyes bulge further in panic. A thrill went through Harry as he heard the man choke and watched the jerking increase he could almost taste the mans fear…he could almost feel his problems dieing with Vernon's raspy struggling breaths. Tears slipped down his cheek as with one last gurgling jerk Vernon stopped moving and his eyes went glassy. Harry smiled faintly and stepped back out of the room closing the door silently behind him before rushing to the bathroom and throwing up the scant amount of food that he'd eaten that day. If asked what he was feeling at that moment as he leaned his sweaty head against the cool porcelain Harry wouldn't be able to say. Yet he could tell you that amongst the horror and fear he felt there was an overwhelming sense of relief. He'd done it…no one would have any idea that he was the one to cause it. Green eyes darted toward the cabinet and shakily he got to his feet and pulled out the two bottles switching the diet pills with Vernon's heart attack pills. Vernon…he was dead…Harry smiled slightly as he returned the bottles to the medicine cabinet and picked up the tea tray before slowly returning it to the kitchen. As he gathered his gardening tools he hesitated lifting his head his eyes glittering with determination.

"I am not a freak, I am special and I am better than them. The Dursleys are wrong about nearly everything; right is the opposite of everything they say…and I deserve better thanthis."

**He deserved better than this**

Harry smiled softly to himself and brushed away the tears absently and made his way to the front yard. Someday he would show them, he would create a world where no one would be able to hurt him. He viciously tore a weed from the ground. Flowers were fragile but beautiful they just needed someone to tend to them- someone to tear out the weeds. Maybe he was like a flower that had no one to tear out the weeds that threaten to choke out his potential, but then, he didn't need any one else to tear out his weeds, he could do it himself, after all hadn't he always done just that?

Petunia appeared two hours later unaware that she was now a widow. Harry felt an odd sort of satisfaction in answering her demands to get the groceries from the boot so that she could rush up stairs and take off her uncomfortable shoes. The piercing scream she let out was one Harry would never forget.

Vernon Dursley's funeral was held the day before Harry's birthday on a cold bleak hill. Harry watched the casket as it was lowered into the ground and couldn't help but feel a sense of finality to it. A chapter in his life was over. Quietly he stood back ever a stranger in the crowd, no more important than a lawn ornament as Petunia dabbed delicately at her eyes and Dudley took in the attention like a sponge. People came and went offering empty condolences and hefty checks conversing quietly about how wonderful Vernon had been whether they'd hated him in life or had hardly known him. It was startling for Harry to realize that Vernon was truly unloved. Even his wife and son were more focused on themselves than the loss they shared. Harry could only shake his head silently at the scene.

"Hello boy." A quiet voice spoke behind him nearly causing him to jump. Slowly he turned to the speaker his green eyes wide behind his crooked glasses. The man was tall, lightly tanned and a quick look at the cut of his suit told Harry that he was also very wealthy. He shifted self consciously.

"Hello sir." He said sheepishly unaccustomed to having any ones full attention on him. The man smiled widely showing Harry a row of strait teeth that fit his handsome complexion nicely. Harry hesitantly raised his hand as the man held out his only to have the man's strong fingers wrap around his smaller hand in a firm grip.

"Are you a relation to the- er grieving family?" He said his hand lingering around Harry's for a moment longer than was comfortable for him. Harry frowned as his hand was released and nodded slowly.

"He was my uncle; my parents were killed in a car crash so I live with them…" He said drifting his gaze towards where his aunt and cousin stood. The man frowned slightly and nodded his head.

"I am sorry to hear that." He said lifting his hand to remove his sunglasses shocking Harry with the sight of honey colored eyes.

"Umm…did you know my uncle?" Harry said unsure of how to carry on the conversation. The man darted his gaze down his eyes staring into Harry's for a long moment.

"Such beautiful eyes…" he murmured causing Harry to blush and duck his head uncomfortably. "I'm an old friend of your aunts." He said smirking. "It was wonderful meeting you boy; I hope that we will meet again soon…and in better circumstances." He said with a glint in his eye that bothered Harry. The man didn't bother waiting for Harry's reply before making his way towards Aunt Petunia. What was he up to? Harry frowned and shook his head.

"Ah, Mister Potter." A calm voice greeted. Harry turned in shock at having been singled out for a second time. A vaguely familiar elderly man smiled down at him his blue eyes twinkling quietly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N! Ok so as promised here is chapter 2. Yes, I actually waited until Friday and yes I will probably wait until next Friday to post the next chapter. **

**To anyone that is interested I'm already done with chapters one through five in the next book. **

**To anyone who may be wondering what pairing this will turn out to be...well I really actually don't know yet, I have a general plot line but my mind is running wild on this on_e. _**

**There will be lots of torture and blood the further the story progresses but they are written with purpose. I intend for Harry's character to be visibly different from other children, an obvious contrast and that can only be achieved through experiencing things that most children and even adults have not seen. In the first book he is still a bit innocent despite having been abused for much of his younger life (and despite having been the cause for Vernon's death) So don't freak out if he doesn't respond the way a normal child does.**

**Onwards then...I Have a bit of a problem, maybe one of you tech savy people can help me with. When I sent my beta the original of the story and they finished editing it we realized that she has a more modern version of windows than my computer will accept so they were nice enough to put it in pdf file form for me. The problem is that when I transferred everything back to the word document something went off. I don't particularly know the direct terms for it but I'm having to go through line by line and delete and press space over and over and over. If anyone knows what this is called or how to fix it without me doing that then I would greatly appreciate your help. I would rather not spend hours fixing the formatting when I could be continuing with the next story.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 2_

_Year one, a new world._

Harry sighed as he sat in the empty carriage his mind spinning with the events of the past few days. He was a wizard. That alone had been a difficult concept to come to terms with.

Of course his aunt had been more than glad to be rid of him as she went into 'mourning' much of which included raking in her husband's hefty insurance money and cashing the many checks she'd received during and after the funeral. The elderly man, Dumbledore it turned out was the headmaster at a wizarding school that Harry was to attend. In a whirlwind of events Harry had found himself the proud owner of a large vault filled with gold. Dumbledore of course had promptly set about retrieving the many various items he would need for the start of the term. Harry had been so stunned and so shocked by the discovery of this new world that he'd simply followed the man around in a daze soaking up the many impossible things that seemed to be daily occurrences to the others wandering around Diagon Ally.

Carefully he pulled his wand from his pocket.

He should hate it.

The brother wand to the wand that killed his parents- but they were dead. He'd long ago given up mourning for them, in his heart of hearts he still sometimes envisioned a world where they had lived, but it was a dead wish. It was almost like a song that had been played too many times. Instead he wondered about the man who had killed his parents. Had he been like Harry? Broken by desperation, unwilling to let himself hurt any longer? The man, Olivander told him that the man, Voldemort was a very great and powerful wizard. Had he done what Harry dreamed of doing? Had he tried to create a world where no one could hurt him? Harry traced his wand thoughtfully. Dumbledore hadn't been forthcoming in his answers instead he'd looked sad and wary, but Harry wanted to know. His parents were dead; there was nothing that could change that. He was on his own now if there was some one out there, someone like him…he would like to meet them. Maybe then, he wouldn't be so alone. He frowned at the thought. Alone. He was better off that way, safer; no one could hurt him if he was alone. Harry startled as the cabin door slid open and white blonde hair filled the doorway.

"Room for one more?" The boy asked though he strode in and sat down before Harry could say anything.

"Sure." Harry said adopting the face he always wore at number four. Polite, always calm and polite willing to help- the perfect nephew. Two large hulking figures stumbled in and took a seat on either side of the boy who held out a hand.

"My name's Draco Malfoy and this is Crabb and Goyle." He said jerking his thumb at the two boys beside him. Harry took the cocky boy's hand and smiled thinly.

"Harry Potter." He said inwardly grinning at the boy's suddenly shocked expression. He'd learned very quickly upon arriving in the wizarding world that while in the muggle world he was invisible, in the wizarding world he was a hero.

"No way!" One of the larger boys gasped leaning forward slightly. Harry grimaced; he never liked it when people go too close to him, especially large people with hulking forms like his uncle. Draco reluctantly released his hand and smirked slightly.

"Well, welcome back to the wizarding world Potter." He said his mind working visibly.

Harry dropped his polite expression. He knew that look- the boy wanted to use him. But in this world Harry was free, and there was no way he'd go back to being a lackey.

"Careful Malfoy." He said quietly his expression cold. "I'm not the servant type." He said jerking his head at the two boys sitting beside Draco. Harry knew his type, the boy screamed of Dudley, spoilt rotten and using his strength to surround himself with people that would agree with him. Malfoy looked shocked before leaning back and nodding carefully. Immature as the boy was he'd always been raised with certain expectations.

"Alright Potter, if you say so." Malfoy said holding out a hand. Harry smiled his polite expression returning in a flash. "Friends?" Malfoy asked smirking. Harry grasped the boy's hand. He was better off alone he reminded himself. But if he was going to keep himself from getting hurt he needed someone with power to lean on until he could stand on his own.

"Sure!" He said cheerfully.

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Harry yawned quietly and leaned back in his seat pushing aside the heavy tome. He had learned quickly upon arriving at Hogwarts that he was woefully ignorant of the world he'd entered. Malfoy seemed to take great pleasure in lecturing him on well, nearly everything around him which Harry soaked up because he knew he'd be a fool not to. For example, before arriving he'd had no clue that there were four houses that one could be sorted into. The fact that he'd been sorted into Slytherin seemed to cause an uproar and Harry hadn't known why until Draco had explained it to him.

"They probably thought you'd be sorted into the lions den- Gryffindor like your parents. After all, heroes are supposed to come from that house." He'd said rolling his eyes. "No one would have thought that you would end up in the snake house, they think that Slytherin is full of dark wizards that are out to get them. Don't be surprised if they go from treating you like a legend to treating you like a pariah." Harry had frowned at that. It was true of course. Everywhere he went people stared and whispered, it had gotten to the point where he'd begun to study ahead hoping to learn a few spells to help him sneak around. It was fine by him though, he didn't need any one. He was special, better than all of them- or at least he would be.

"Potter?" Harry jumped at the velvety soft voice of his head of house. Severus Snape seemed to take a distinct disliking to him from the first day. "What are you doing still awake, it's nearly two o' clock in the morning." The man said frowning his gaze drifting over the many books Harry had strewn out around him.

"Sorry sir, I couldn't sleep." Harry said looking away. No, he couldn't sleep, not with Vernon's face lurking in every shadow.

"So you decided to study?" the man demanded lifting the edge of one of the books to see the front cover. "About the history of the wizarding world?" He said raising his eyebrows. Harry ignored the blush that threatened to spread across his cheeks. "Why?" The man demanded sitting down in the chair and relighting the fire in the fireplace. Harry shivered he hadn't even realized that it had gone out.

"I don't know anything." He admitted quietly. "People seem to know more about me than I do…I didn't even know my parent's names before I came here." He said shaking his head in annoyance.

"You…don't know?" Snape said frowning deeply his eyes glittering strangely. Harry nodded.

"The day headmaster Dumbledore told me I was a wizard I found out for the first time that my parents hadn't died in a car crash like I'd always been told. I don't even know what they look like." He said running his fingers through his hair. He shouldn't be telling Snape all this- really he shouldn't, the man could use it against him. He shook his head. Trust no one. "Never mind it's stupid I'll go to sleep sir, sorry for staying up so late." He said reaching forward to gather up his books.

"No…Potter, it's good that you're showing so much ambition. However, that book is flawed and its author biased, if you would like I could write up a list of books that I know for a fact lean more towards the truth." Harry looked up at the man in shock only to feel suspicion creep into the edges of his mind. Still…he needed all the help he could get.

"Thank you…but…why sir?" He asked cautiously. "What are you getting out of this?" He said backing away slightly. The man's frown deepened.

"You're a Slytherin to the core aren't you?" he muttered to himself. "What could have made you so afraid of the world…?" Harry stiffened and physically took a step back his expression shifting to being polite.

"You don't have to trouble yourself sir, I'll figure it out." He said flicking his wand at the rest of the books and directing them to his bag. "Good night sir." He said lifting the bag.

"Potter." Snape said halting his movements. "I am your head of house it is my privilege to guide the students under my care, furthering their education is part of that privilege. Drop by my office tomorrow after your last class." Harry gazed at the man for a moment.

"Nothing is without its price sir." He said hesitantly. Snape smirked slightly from where he sat the firelight playing on the small crease of his smile.

"True enough, then you will help me organize my storage closet in return. Who knows, you might even learn a thing or two about potions." He said causing Harry to blink in shock.

"Tomorrow after my last class then sir…thank you." He said softly before slipping out of the room. Snape frowned deeply in the dim light of the fireplace.

"You have some answering to do Albus Dumbledore." He said softly before standing and slipping out of the room.

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Harry hesitated briefly before knocking on his head of houses office door. The man had shown him blatant dislike from the first day, he might even hate him for some reason or another…was it really wise for him to be alone in the same room with the man? Still, he needed information. He pressed his lips into a thin line and rapped on the large wooden door three times in succession. "Enter!" Came the voiced demand. Harry quickly grabbed the handle took a deep breath and entered the room. Snape was behind a large table that was covered with scrolls and notes glaring down at what looked to be a math problem though Harry had never seen the likes of it before.

"Professor?" He said making his way closer to the desk only to flinch when the man rose his annoyed glare towards him.

"Ah, Potter." He said shortly before setting the quill he'd been twisting in his fingers down with an audible snap. "There are known to man a grand total of four-thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight varieties of feathers that can be used in potions." He said his tone clipped. Harry blinked widely at the man as he lifted a large book and settled it atop of an already large pile of books. "Consider this and a few other menial tasks I may ask of you your payment for the books you've requested. I want you to memorize the information in this book, all four-thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight descriptions as well as the names and origins of the birds or feather bearing creatures in which we find each feather."

Harry frowned at the book. "You have a month to do so." Snape added narrowing his eyes slightly. "In that time, should you manage to achieve your task I will be willing to make a bargain with you." He said lifting a large, old weather beaten box. "This is what remains of the explosion at Godrics Hollow, the only personal photographs of your parents that to my knowledge exist, are in this box as well as a few personal artifacts." Harry's eyes grew wide and a secret thrill of longing rose up inside of him.

"You want me to memorize four-thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight different varieties of feathers that can be used in potions? That is your price?" He said cautiously. Snape smirked his eyes glinting.

"No Potter I'm afraid you misheard me, I said that you will learn all four-thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight different varieties of feathers as payment for the books you requested. If you do so and when I test you I find that you have in fact learned what I assigned to you, _then _I will be willing to _bargain _for the contents of this box." He said leaning his hip against the desk and crossing his arms. Harry tilted his head to the side.

"That's all?" He said glancing down at the box. Memorizing things had never been a difficult task for him; after all he'd been memorizing things for his aunt and uncle for years. "Alright." He said lifting the large book. Determination welled in him.

"Yes, that is all, however before you go you should know that you will be coming here every evening this month in order to help me organize my storage closets. The use of feathers while an important part of potions is not the only ingredient needed and while Hogwarts may not have all four-thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight different varieties of feathers it does have a great number of them and other ingredients. All of these must be sorted and cataloged; the headmaster has finally gotten around to charming a self-updating book for me, however in order for it to work the original names and numbers must be imputed. Of course I have been meaning to go through the storage room for several years now simply because of how much of a trial it is to _find _anything in there any more." He groused quietly to himself.

"You want me to organize it for you then?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side. Snape nodded jerkily.

"Out of all the essays I received at the beginning of the term including those atrocities that the sixth and seventh years call essays, your handwriting was the neatest and most legible by far. You will come here every evening after dinner and leave only after you have completed the task I've given you. Seeing that you have a hard time sleeping I doubt that this will present a problem." He said standing. "Follow me." He muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. Harry glanced once more at the box on the desk before following the man out the office door and down the hallway. "I will have to teach you several spells that are a few years above your level but if your performance in charms is as Flitwick says they are I doubt you will have much difficulty." He hesitated briefly causing Harry to nearly run into him. Slowly the man turned his head slightly.

"Sir?" Harry asked shuffling back a bit.

"You mother was exceptional at charms I suspect that you got your talent from her." He said before turning abruptly and continuing down the hall. Harry silently followed clinging to the scrap of information like a lifeline as they made the rest of their quiet journey to the store rooms.

"Hello Snape!" A portrait greeted cheerfully causing Harry to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Good evening Marcus." Snape greeted. "This here is young mister Potter; I've assigned him the task of organizing the store rooms so he'll be here every night." The portrait raised his eyebrows and peered down at Harry.

"Oh? Very well then, Password?" Snape turned to Harry with a hard expression.

"Listen carefully Potter, I am going to give you the password because I'm not about to baby sit you, however, should anything go missing I will know and should you tell anyone the password you will never again see that box." Harry nodded with wide eyes.

"Yes sir." He said shrinking back slightly. He hated when adults did this to him, he hated that he was actually afraid of it. Snape straitened and turned back to the portrait.

_"Scientia potentia est." _He said easily before turning back to Harry with a thoughtful look as the portrait sung open. "A word of advice Potter, you will find that in the Wizarding world many of our spells are written in Latin. It would behoove you to learn the language." Harry nodded absorbing the information as Snape turned and slipped into the room. Harry followed after the man gasping at the sheer size of the room. He had to clean all _this_? Snapes eyes glittered at the sight of the room. "Impressive isn't it?" He said sounding breathless before approaching a large dusty tome. "Of course I will have several house elves helping you." He said smirking at Harry's horrified expression. "But they are rather excitable creatures and will need supervision, besides they will be here primarily for the grunt work. _You _will be doing the organizing and cataloging." He said opening the large tome. "There are twelve floors in total, until now various potions ingredients have been haphazardly placed in general categories and left unkempt. That will be put to an end." He said flicking his wand at a large crate summoning it towards them. "Because of the magical properties of the ingredients it would be difficult and unwise to simply throw out the ingredients that are no longer of any use to us." Harry shook his head as another large tome appeared.

"Sir…you expect me to get this done in a _month_?" He asked in shock. There was no way…no way at all that he would be able to achieve such a thing. Snape smirked.

"Of course not Potter, I expect that it will take until well into your third year if not your fourth year." He said pointing a finger at his head. "But the knowledge that I have to offer you ranges well beyond that of the general history of the wizarding world, I could teach you things that aren't written in any books. I see your ambition Potter and it is a quality that will get you far in this world if provided the right sort of care." He said smirking. Harry narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I won't let you use me." He said stiffly. Snape rose an eyebrow.

"Potter despite what others may like to assume I am quite willing to teach an attentive pupil, aside from that while I do have my motives they will not in any way harm or abuse you-" he hesitated upon seeing Harry flinch at the word abuse before continuing as if he'd never stopped. "-but rather they are there to help you. If any one should ask of course you are being punished for some grievous error or another, the only person that need know of our deal is well aware of it." Snape said with a slight frown. Why Dumbledore had suggested it was beyond him but then the man's plans always were out of his range of understanding. There was probably some moral reason behind it all that Severus would never come to understand, but then the headmaster didn't know about the other deals he would be making with Potter in the future. If the boy was to survive in this world he needed all the help he could get and Merlin be damned if he didn't help Lily's child. Lily's child…

Looking at those familiar green eyes every day would be his own personal form of self torture, though he could never make up for what he'd done.

"Sir?" Potter asked looking up at him with hesitant untrusting eyes. Snape had the urge to pummel whoever had put that look in a child's eyes. Instead he turned back to the large tome.

"For now I will have the elves retrieve everything from their shelves and organize them into crates by category. Be glad that I'm not having you do this Potter, if I did you'd be here until well after graduation, instead I will need you to make a count…" Harry listened raptly as the man explained in detail what he wanted done. The instructions were complex and Harry could tell that the man was putting a lot of faith in him to be entrusting him with this. It almost felt…good, Snape may be a right git most of the time but maybe…maybe there was more to him than everyone assumed. He didn't fully understand the man's motive, but even he had heard the rumors about the man's genius. Snape was revered in most every potions guild and had created many of the potions that were commonly used today. Harry was no potions master but he knew just by looking at the large room filled with potions ingredients that creating a potion was no small feat. "…Any questions?" Snape asked eventually. Harry shook his head staring wide eyed at the book. The task seemed impossible- but he could do it…he'd prove to the man that he could, he'd prove to everyone that he was better! Determination welled inside of him. "Very good, get to work then." Snape said handing him a pair of dragon hide gloves that had been sized down to fit him.

That night- or rather early the next morning as Harry collapsed into bed covered in dust, grime and countless other rather disturbing bits and pieces he slept quietly. No visions of Vernon's bloated face or of nameless faces and pain, instead there was a sort of blissful exhaustion.

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Harry leaned heavily against his floating broomstick as he watched the others struggle to get theirs to float into the palms of their hands. Harry was rather unsure about flying on a broomstick, in his experiences brooms were there to clean with and provide the occasional paddle to hit someone with- not to fly around with. Also, the idea of forcing his rather tired and sore body to do more physical exercise was not an appealing one. Cleaning out the store rooms he found were an arduous task indeed. He had to sort through each of the heavy boxes looking through the seemingly endless book that Snape had provided him with for instructions on how to tell if the ingredient was fresh or not. It had taken him three days to notice that the handwriting in the book was the same handwriting that marked his potions essays, and another two days to realize that the book had been spelled to fit far more content that it rightly should have. It was another four days before Snape stopped by and sounding rather smug told him that he could simply place his wand against the margin and read off the label of the bottle and the book would turn to the page he needed. Suffice to say he was rather tired and frustrated with it all. Not to mention that he had to wear the sweaty smelly dragon hide gloves all the time to keep his hands safe- or that he made his way back to the dorms smelling like a troll most nights-

"Now swing your leg over the broom!" Madam Hooch called her eyes flickering over them with uncanny intelligence. Harry sighed and winced as he forced his sore leg over the handle of the broom feeling ridiculous as he did so. He yawned slightly and almost fell over when one of the Gryffindors let out a yelp as he lost control of his broom. Harry hardly had time to duck before the boy went soaring past his ear flying wildly up and around one of the towers. Harry watched with wide eyes as the boy began dipping jerkily down and then back up again and then around in a circle only to crash his broom head on into one of the stone towers. Harry winced as he watched the broom splinter and throw the boy off. It was only by sheer luck that the falling boy managed to catch his cloak on one of the torch sconces halting what could have been a rather deadly fall. Harry froze as the boy's flushed face came into view his eyes bulging out as he stared at them pleading for help- images of uncle Vernon flashed before his eyes and suddenly it wasn't a Gryffindor hanging by his cloak…it was his uncle. Harry could hear his pulse as it quickened- a thrill raced through him…he wanted to see the man hurt again, die again…and then the boy was falling and a loud sickening crack snapped Harry out of his thoughts. He stood silently feeling just as pale and shaky as he had that day as he'd watched the light go out in Vernon's eyes. Madam Hooch rushed over to the fallen boy and helped him stand causing him to groan as his obviously mangled wrist was shifted.

"Ohhh looks like a broken wrist…" Harry frowned. A broken wrist? That was all? He almost felt- jilted. He'd expected the boy to have died. He watched the woman rush the boy off to the hospital wing and slipped off his broom. Malfoy snorted and reached forward scooping up a small glass sphere.

"Looks like Longbottom dropped something!" he said tossing the sphere into the air and catching it again. Harry rolled his eyes. There were times when Draco's immaturity astounded him.

"Give that back Malfoy!" A red haired boy shouted angrily. Harry sighed his eyes catching sight of the small round orb annoyance spiked through him why on earth did they have to stay here? He could be elsewhere instead of wasting his valuable time. He blinked rapidly when Draco mounted his broom and took off. Fool, he was going to get himself expelled- a sudden rush of panic raced through Harry. For all his gloating and insults Draco was his primary source of information, he couldn't have the boy expelled! Without really thinking he lifted his hand in the direction that Draco was flying and _focused. _He'd done this before, to reach something that he couldn't manage to reach or to lift something particularly heavy. In fact before coming to Hogwarts he'd been using his magic freely without a wand in order to survive. A gasp rang through the air as Malfoy's broom halted in mid-air despite his best efforts to get it to move and slowly turned floating back towards them. Draco glared angrily down at them trying to figure out who it was that was controlling his broom only to pale as he caught sight of Harry's outstretched arm. Slowly Draco floated back to the ground his eyes locked on Harry's outstretched hand.

"Being the noble hero Potter?" He said with an annoyed frown. Harry sneered and focused his gaze on the small orb watching in satisfaction as it shattered.

"Not likely Malfoy just repaying you by keeping your arse from getting expelled. What would your father say if that were to happen?" Draco paled further before scowling.

"My father's on the board of governors there's no way he'd let them expel me." He said crossing his arms childishly. Harry shook his head and pointed up to one of the windows where Snapes foreboding shadow lurked. Harry had sensed the man's gaze on them the moment it had been captured by the Gryffindors fall. Draco caught sight of the man and winced visibly.

"Oh bugger." Harry snorted and Draco trained his suspicious gaze on Harry. "How did you get my broom to come back to you…wandless magic is almost unheard of it takes years to learn it." Harry frowned. Damn, he hadn't known that. Using his magic without a wand was nearly as simple as breathing to him he'd done it so many times.

"Every heard of accidental magic Malfoy?" He said scowling. "It's what happens when you piss off a young wizard- guess what? I'm pretty pissed off right now." Harry said allowing his magic to crackle around him for effect. Malfoy flinched back visibly.

"Jeeze Potter, what's got your knickers in a twist?" He demanded with a slight pout the excuse fooling him easily.

"Yeah! You didn't have to bust Neville's Rememberall!" the redhead from earlier shouted.

Harry sighed and slowly looked at the boy. "There's too much red and gold around Malfoy- it's garish and I've got a headache. All this shouting isn't helping." He said dropping his broom carelessly. "I'm going to the infirmary to get a headache drought let the professor know will you?" He said absently. Merlin he hated being outside, the sun hurt his eyes and there was a biting chill in the air that was making his nose burn. Quickly he made his way up the steps and into the school ignoring the muttering students behind him. The quiet hallways soothed him as he made his way past the portraits.

"Wandless magic Potter?" Snape's voice cut through the silence loudly. Harry frowned.

"I didn't know that it was rare here sir or I would have been more careful." He said knowing that he wouldn't be able to fool the man with any weak excuses. The man's dark eyes glittered.

"Very rare indeed, but it's fine, a little incident like today will help you out in the long run I'm sure. You see what today is a shocking event will tomorrow be nothing more than a blown up rumor; however that rumor will cling to the more simple minds. Someday it will make you respected even if no one witnesses it again. The thing about rumors is that people believe them just as much as they disbelieve them. It will make your enemies more wary of attacking you." Harry nodded slowly.

"So it's alright?" he said cautiously. Snape nodded his head.

"I would be worried if Dumbledore had seen it, but since he didn't he will most likely pass off the rumor or try to test you. It would be better for you to keep from doing it again where anyone can see you- including the portraits. It was only then that Harry noticed that the portraits around them were frozen and a thick white film seemed to cover their canvases. Harry gasped in understanding.

"You see them all the time and with everything else going on people tend to forget that the portraits are there, listening, watching…the headmaster is rather sly isn't he?" Harry said in slight appreciation. Snape snorted.

"More than you know Potter. If you would like I could teach you several useful spells to keep unwanted eyes and ears from becoming a problem." He said smirking. Harry narrowed his eyes.

"What's the price?" He asked cautiously. Snape chuckled.

"Smart boy; never agree to something unless you know the price of it. In this case two extra weeks added to the month you'll be working in the store rooms." Harry's eyes widened in sudden understanding

"You're going to add more time to the two months we agreed to every time you offer to teach me something and I accept aren't you?" He asked stunned. Snape's smirk widened and his eyes glittered.

"Clever Potter, do we have a bargain?" Harry glanced around at the portraits before nodding sharply. "Very good" Snape said before holding out a notebook. "I meant to give this to you yesterday but forgot, when you sign your name on the line it will automatically write in the time and date, you'll sign it once in this column when you arrive at the store rooms and again in this column when you leave. This will keep you from getting in trouble with any of the prefects if you're out after curfew. I've already cleared it with them so that if they _do _see you doing anything suspicious they can request to see the book to tell whether your wandering is authorized or not. Of course they will have to go through me to get to it and while I do not condone late night wanderings I do understand the necessity of furthering one's education…" He said trailing off with a smirk. Harry widened his eyes. The man scowled slightly a second later. "Granted I _only _understand the necessity of furthering one's education." He said pointedly. Harry nodded rapidly and Snape smirked. "Take that as a thank you for keeping my godson from breaking his neck or getting expelled." He said turning away. Harry widened his eyes.

"Draco's your godson?" he asked in shock. Snape sneered.

"What? Don't I seem like the parenting type?" He said lifting his chin. Harry had to hold back a snort.

"No, it's just that I never pictured it- he's rather well, spoiled really." He said ducking his head. Snape snorted.

"That would be his mothers fault, not mine." He said before turning and slipping into the shadows. Harry smirked wryly and tucked the notebook into his bag.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so before you begin reading note that it is not Friday and I am still posting this, a few people asked me to surprise them with my chapters so I will do so. There will still be only one chapter a week but since most of these chapters are rather long I don't think you should have anything to worry about, this chapter in particular is rather long and gives a bit of background information for later as well as setting the scene for additional changes to the original story line that JK Rowling created. Keep in mind that while I am sticking to the timeline as much as possible and keeping the events as congruent to the original plot line things will inevitably change. I hope you all enjoy this! **

**As a side note, unfortunately I haven't gotten very far in book 2 this week because I was a bit ill at the beginning of the week but I've still been plotting away in my mind so it shouldn't be too hard to catch up. Let me know what you think! I do dearly enjoy your comments even if I haven't the time to reply to all of them! Oh and if you have any questions feel free to ask however I won't give anything away just yet because I'm one of those horrible people that likes her readers to actually be surprised. Happy reading!  
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**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
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_Chapter 3_

_The Price of Peace_

After the event on the quidditch field time seemed to move on, developing a routine.

After class Harry would return to the Slytherin dormitory and do his homework, since first years didn't get much homework and their schedule was rather lax Harry had plenty of time before dinner to study the books Snape had given him.

He learned that long ago, long before even Hogwarts had been created; Wizards and Muggles lived together peacefully. In fact Wizards were revered and held great political power, a power which they used to help muggles advance. Many times the books mentioned that wizards were responsible for stopping many plagues and lessening the damages of droughts and famines. While the exact beginning of magic users was unknown, their relationship with muggles was age old. Muggles and wizards had worked together for thousands of years.

Again the exact date or circumstance was not noted in the books, but it was noted that muggles became restless. They began to fear the powers wizards wielded or tried to use wizards for personal gain, when wizards realized this they began to distance themselves from muggles causing muggles to become even more fearful and suspicious. The growing mistrust between muggles and wizards was what lead the four founders of Hogwarts to beginning the construction of Hogwarts.

No one was certain when it started or who started it, but unrest turned to violence and quickly the once revered Wizards were turned against. They were hunted down like animals. Harry had barely been able to read some of the descriptions of what had been done to anyone claimed to be a witch or wizard. The pictures were enough to make his stomach turn and the few written accounts that had been salvaged were vivid and bothered Harry. By the time dinner had rolled around more often than not he had been left in a thoughtful and bitter mood.

Had Muggles always been this way?

So _cruel_?

After dinner, as he focused his mind on his task in the store room, he always managed to calm down though the thoughts still circled in his mind. His work in the storerooms however was progressing steadily. Without knowing it he was learning how to be able to tell different ingredients apart and how to tell what was fresh from what was not most often through unpleasant experiences. He kept busy though- cleaning out grime covered jars in the special solution that Snape had made to dissolve anything harmful. Tossing what was rotten or no longer usable in the large crate that he found out was lined with a powder that would keep the ingredients from reacting, learning various spells that would keep the jars dust free in the future, or would keep the labels from becoming yellowed and unreadable. The tasks were slow and arduous but Harry didn't mind, not when he was learning so much, not when it meant coming closer to achieving his dream.

For a time things were peaceful for Harry Potter.

He was getting three square meals a day, learning more and more about this strange new world where the impossible was possible, and…no one hit him here. No one hurt him if he did the wrong thing. Slowly he gained the courage not to shirk at every moving shadow.

Slowly, he began to heal.

Because you see, he was not a freak, he was special, he would be better than all of them and, because the Dursleys were in fact wrong about nearly everything. Right was the opposite of nearly everything they said. He deserved better than them. Much like the wizards and witches in ancient time he had done nothing wrong, and yet they had hurt him. Men like his uncle…women like his aunt…they were cruel. They deserved to die.

On October thirty-first while students could be seen gallivanting about the castle excitedly Harry Potter went unnoticed. Many of the Slytherins of course understood his somber mood and knowing his rather volatile temper avoided talking to him. On this day Harry didn't study about ancient wizards and witches, he didn't think about feathers or potions ingredients or really much of anything else. As if to reflect his terrible mood, Snape was also in a particularly dour mood managing to send six students running out of his classroom in tears by the time lunch rolled around. All in all the two were summarily avoided by their peers come time for classes to end. Harry, in spite of his wanting to do nothing at all realized after causing a floating Jack o' Lantern to explode all over a couple of Ravenclaws who _insisted _on singing Halloween music that it would be better for him to find a quiet place- quickly. It surprised him though when he found himself standing in front of his head of houses office his hand hesitating in front of the door.

"Are you going to stand there all night Potter?" Came the wry voice. Harry smiled slightly at that and opened the door catching sight of dark unreadable eyes.

"I can't-" His voice broke and he looked away. "I can't be out there with them. I don't want to hurt any one but-" he didn't notice the angry tears collecting in the corners of his eyes.

"I can't watch them _celebrate_." He spat his magic crackling around him as he struggled to restrain himself. Snape nodded shortly and leaned back in his chair.

"You know…" He said quietly. "The house elves finished putting the last of the ingredients into the crates last night…I already ordered new cases, so we'll need to get rid of the old ones." Harry frowned and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Has anyone told you about the joys of the Reducto curse?" He said raising his eyebrows.

Harry shook his head feeling slightly disturbed by the glint in the man's eyes. "Then I suppose it's time I teach you." He said standing abruptly.

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Harry let out a gasping laugh as the wood splintered and exploded into the air noisily.

Snape nodded his head before sending another at the pile. "There are twelve floors to this storeroom Potter; each floor has a grand total of one hundred and twenty two cases. There are seventy-two spells that are similar to the Reducto curse all of which have different characteristics and levels of power ranging from an explosion the size of a pin point to an explosion large enough to turn everything within this room into ash. By the time we leave here tonight I will expect you to have learned thirty-two of these curses." He said his eyes glittering. Harry stared at the man wide-eyed before squaring his jaw and readying his wand.

"I'm listening." He said his magic thrumming beneath his skin. Snape smirked.

"Good, now put your wand down Potter." He said slipping his own wand up his sleeve and holding out his hand.

"_Vegrandis Ruina_" he said softly. Harry gasped as a small spark cracked above the man's hand.

"Wandless magic? I thought you said it's rare!" Harry said with wide eyes. Snape smirked.

"It is, now you try, just remember that the spell doesn't need much power because the explosion is small. It needs focus, and self control. The spell requires that you have a deep connection with your magic. Never assume that you have power over your magic

Potter, it is more than willing to work _with _you if you respect it." Harry closed his eyes and focused reaching out to his magic and trying to tell it what he wanted to do. It was the first time he'd ever treated his magic like it was separate from him.

"_Vegrandis Ruina_" He whispered opening his eyes slowly and watching the air above his hand burst into tiny crackling sparks of light. Snape rose his eyebrows.

"Excellent…I didn't expect you to have this level of control. Most children don't." He said with a slight frown. "But then again, most children can't do wandless magic." He said with a small smirk. "Aright now…"

Several hours later Harry panted as another loud explosion rocked the room his fingers tingling from the magic he'd just held in them. It felt good; this destruction…letting loose his anger, his sorrow, and his fears. On this night ten years ago his parents had been killed and his life had taken a turn for the worst. He grit his teeth and let his magic react to his anger exploding from him again and again in quick succession until it was merely a spark in his hand. He'd been a child, helpless in the hands of people who hated him, who would have destroyed him had he given them the chance. He panted as he thought of the other students enjoying their Halloween feast above them not knowing that their every laugh had come at a high cost. Not knowing that bloodshed was the reason they were able to laugh so freely, his blood, his tears, his sorrow.

"Hey Professor Snape?" He asked his voice rough from use.

"Hmmm?" The man hummed from where he was leaning against the table surveying the

wreckage.

"Do you think that they ever think about it?" He said looking up. Snape frowned behind

him.

"About what Potter?" Harry slowly lowered his head and faced the man.

"The price of their laughter." He said allowing a single tear to slip down his cheek. Snape flinched visibly and Harry dropped his head lifting his fingers to the ragged scar embedded into his flesh. "I can hear it sometimes you know." He whispered tracing the scar with a sharp nail. "Her screams." He dropped his hand to his side and held out his palm again gritting his teeth as his magic rushed out in an explosion of sparking glittering green magic obliterating the pile of wood until there was nothing more than ashes floating in the air. "Sometimes." He said softly as the cooling ashes brushed his cheeks and tickled his nose. "Sometimes I wish that they couldn't laugh any more- that they would scream instead- like she did. The price of laughter, of peace- is blood." He whispered watching the bleeding skin on his palm heal itself. When he lifted his head he caught sight of something he never thought he would see in his life, Snape was crying.

Ashes caught the mans' tears and left long trails of pale skin behind and Harry couldn't help but watch them in wonder.

"Potter-" Harry jerked as a loud bang echoed through the room. The storerooms were soundproof to anyone outside of the door, but inside they could still hear what was going on in the surrounding hallways. Snape frowned suddenly pale and rushed out the door leaving Harry alone amidst the ashes. For a moment he stood in the silence. Eventually he called the house elves and watched them clean up the ashes until he was alone in the dim room. He felt numb as he signed out and slipped out the room wondering what had made Snape run out like that. As he climbed up the stairs though he figured it out, he knew that smell- Troll…but what was a troll doing in Hogwarts. A scream filled the air causing him to shiver and rush towards the sound. Snape had gone before him, surely the man would have caught the beast by now- as the smell grew stronger the sobbing sound grew louder.

When Harry turned the corner he realized that Snape was no where around and the crashes were growing louder. Should he leave? Could he take on a troll? He reached into his pocket and gripped his wand only to hiss as his magic snapped at it in annoyance. It didn't want to be focused through the wand he realized…it was still eager from earlier…

"HELP! PLEASE SOMEBODY!" Harry shivered at the shrill sound as another crash filled the air. Pressing his lips together he rushed forward wanting nothing more than to make the screams stop.

_Please! NO! HARRY!_

He shuddered as he rounded the corner and realized that he was too late- the Troll brought down his club with all of its brutish strength and Harry could do nothing more then flinch as a sickening crunching squelching sound filled the air and blood spattered the white tiles. Harry stood in shock as he watched the troll pull his club from the bloody mangled spot that had once been a girl and then bring it down again…and again.

_HARRY! MY BABY!_

As if it belonged to someone else his hand rose in the air unhindered by the forced focus of a wand- he had to stop them…the screams…the laughter…his ears rang loudly as tears coursed down his cheeks and light gathered in the palm of his hand exploding outwards in a silent pulse of magic as the troll turned towards him.

%&%&%&%&%&%

Dumbledore let out a gasp as he rounded the corner catching sight of the blood pooling out from the door to the girls bathroom. The putrid smell of troll hung pungent in the air making him feel vaguely sick.

"Oh Merlin!" Minerva gasped coming up behind him. Dumbledore straitened himself and strode towards the door fearing what he would see and rightly so too he realized as he turned and stopped in the doorway. Blood…it was everywhere…it painted the walls and splattered across the ceiling congealing around the toilets and sinks. Behind him he could hear Minerva turn to the side to vomit, her normally stoic expression broken by the sight. Albus stared at the large exposed rib cage or rather what was left of it and moved his gaze across the destroyed room to where an arm hung on the end of the only stall remaining standing.

"Potter!" Snapes exclamation shocked him out of his stupor and he watched in shock as a blood soaked figure that was sitting curled into a ball against the wall lifted a matted head of hair wide green eyes staring up at them emptily.

"Th-The Troll- k-killed a girl." He stuttered lifting a shaking hand and curling his hand into a fist. "He k-kept hitting her with a club, s-she wouldn't stop screaming." He whimpered covering his ears with trembling hands. Snape was the first to react moving towards his student who flinched back at his approach. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he cried out burying his head in his knees. Snape halted his breath catching in his throat. Slowly he pulled off his robe and slung it over the trembling form.

"Its over Potter, you did well." He muttered helping the trembling boy to stand.

"Oh Albus…" Minerva whispered tears slipping down her cheeks as Snape coaxed the boy out of the room.

"Come Potter, the screams are gone now; lets' get you washed up." Snape said in low soothing tones. Potter nodded dumbly and leaned into the man for support.

Severus grit his teeth as he led the boy to his personal quarters which were closest at that point and guided the boy through his bedroom and bathroom carefully leading him into the shower. "Dips." He called softly once the boy was standing under the steaming spray the blood on his clothes washing slowly down the drain. His personal elf appeared with a pop startling Potter who reached out of the shower and grasped his arm staring at him wildly. "You're fine Potter, it's just the house elf." Severus muttered soothingly. Slowly green eyes shifted landing on the timid creature.

"It's over?" Harry asked softly looking up at Severus again. Severus nodded.

"It's over Potter, you did well." Harry nodded slowly and blinked at the water running down the side of his face.

"I'm in the shower?" He said lifting his hand and watching the water flow over it.

"Yes Harry, we have to wash the trolls blood off." Severus said patiently. Harry nodded slowly.

"I shouldn't wear clothes in the shower Vernon will get mad again." He said paling.

Severus sighed heavily.

"You're at Hogwarts Harry, your uncle isn't here." He said slowly. Potter was as lost and confused as a child it seemed. A grin spread across the boy's face.

"That's right…Vernon's dead…" He said softly. Severus frowned but turned to the house elf.

"Dibs, mister Potter may need help taking his shower, will you help him?" He asked cautiously. The elf nodded rapidly. "Very good, he will also need a fresh set of clothes would you mind getting some from his dorm?" He asked turning his gaze back to Potter who was tugging as his wet shirt with a frown.

"Yes master Snape sir!" The elf said eagerly before popping out. Severus turned back to Potter.

"Potter?" He waited until glazed green eyes landed on him. "My house elf is going to help you take a shower ok?" He said as if he was speaking to a small child. Harry nodded his head.

"Ok." He said flinching slightly when the elf popped back in with a clean set of clothes.

"Alright Potter, I'll be in the next room over alright?" he said carefully. Potter frowned but nodded.

"Ok I'm better off alone anyway." He said looking away. Snape frowned but slipped out of the room only to be startled by a knock on his portrait. Rubbing his forehead he went and opened it unsurprised to find Dumbledore's grave expression darkening his doorway.

Severus gestured for the man to enter and said nothing as he slumped tiredly into his favored chair. The headmaster summoned some tea and poured them both a glass while

Severus sneered at the bat shaped cookies.

"You should get rid of those before Potter gets out of the shower." He said gesturing towards the many Halloween treats. Dumbledore frowned.

"Whatever for? I think sweets are exactly what he needs right now." He said taking a bit out of one of the frosted cookies. Severus shook his head and sipped his tea.

"Halloween isn't exactly his favorite holiday Albus." He said quietly unsurprised to see the man's face fall in understanding.

"Ah yes of course…" he said waving his hand at the tray replacing the Halloween motif treats with normal biscuits and treats. "Will he be alright do you think Severus?" He asked after a moment. Severus gazed into the fireplace.

"If any one would be- it would be that boy, though I don't doubt that there will be lingering trauma." He said sipping on his tea.

"He's surprisingly resilient for someone so young." The headmaster said with sad eyes.

Severus nodded slowly.

"He's too young to be so resilient." He said gritting his teeth. _Sometimes I wish that they couldn't laugh any more- that they would scream instead- like she did. The price of laughter, of peace- is blood_. "He more than anyone deserves to laugh." He murmured tohimself.

"I agree, though I must say I never thought that you would become so fond of the boy."

The headmaster said causing Severus to frown. The old man was constantly manipulating people.

"Don't gloat headmaster, it's unbecoming especially considering the circumstances." He sneered. The headmaster opened his mouth to chide him only to stop as the door to

Severus' room clicked open. Green eyes stared suspiciously at the headmaster before darting towards Severus. Slowly Harry slipped across the room and sat in the seat next to

Severus'

"Ah Harry." The headmaster said pouring him a glass of tea which Harry accepted but made no move to drink.

"Better Potter?" Severus asked feeling uncharacteristically concerned. Potter glanced up at him and nodded slowly.

"What happened?" Harry said slowly. "I killed the troll…but then after that…I don't know- I was just in the shower. How did I get there?" He said a bit of fear in his eyes.

Severus frowned but before he could speak the headmaster cut in.

"You were knocked unconscious my boy, Severus here carried you to his quarters because they were the closest-" Harry held up a hand and leveled the headmaster with a glare.

"Professor Snape?" he said his eyes landing on Severus who leaned back and nodded.

"You went into shock, your mind was unable to process what had just happened so it reverted to a state of childlike confusion, your responses were slow and you made connections with people and places that aren't here. For instance you seemed to think that you had returned to your muggle residence and that your uncle would be angry with you."

Harry paled and his hands shook enough that he had to set his tea cup down.

"Will it happen again?" Harry said looking frightened. In fact he was terrified. He had no memories of what had happened in the time it took for him to get from the girls bathroom to the shower. Snape shook his head.

"I doubt it; these things are rare and now that you're no longer in shock the probability of you going back in are slim." Snape said clinically. Harry sighed in relief.

"And the girl?" he said sipping his tea feeling calmer now.

"Her parents will be notified and a full investigation will be made. The Aurors will need to ask you questions." The headmaster said leaning back in his seat. Harry frowned and looked up at Snape.

"What are Aurors?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

"The wizarding worlds' version of the police." Snape said setting down his tea. "They will want to see your notebook as proof that you had been in the storage room with me, and they may ask you questions that make you feel uncomfortable. We could call a guardian to support you if you would like." Severus said as calmly as he could. Harry winced visibly.

"No, its fine." He said shaking his head. _Ok I'm better off alone anyway… _Snape clenched his jaw.

"What about your aunt I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Dumbledore said frowning. Harry shook his head slowly.

"She doesn't like…um magic sir…she wouldn't come?" He said frowning into his tea.

Dumbledore frowned but nodded.

"Well if you're sure my boy, though you will have to have an adult there with you I'm afraid that the law requires it." Dumbledore said setting down his cup. Harry frowned and curled into himself slightly.

"We'll figure something out headmaster, for now I think it would be best for Mister Potter to go to bed he's had a long day." Snape said his words silk over steel causing the headmaster to raise his eyebrows but nod easily.

"Yes, yes of course." He said flicking his wand at the tea set. "And I must be off as well, I can't put off the ministry for long, it would be a good idea for Harry to have some rest before facing them." He said standing. "See you tomorrow Harry, Severus." He said with a nod before slipping out of the room. For a moment Harry and Severus sat in silence.

"Thank you." Harry said after a while. "For everything, I don't really know why you're doing it but…I don't think you want to hurt me- so, thank you." He said looking away.

Severus shook his head.

"No, I should have been there killing that troll not you, if anything I must apologize for not protecting you better." He said frowning deeply. Harry's head shot up in confusion.

"Protect me?" He said quietly not truly understanding. Snape frowned.

"You seem shocked. It's my privilege as your head of house to protect you Potter, I think almost any professor here would have the same view." He said his dark eyes watching the young man beside him. Harry shook his head.

"I guess, its just one of those wizarding things that I don't understand yet." He said smiling grimly causing Severus' heart to drop.

"Potter…"he said hesitantly. Green eyes focused on him nearly taking his breath away. Lily's eyes. But they were so old…eyes like these didn't belong in the face of an eleven year old. He looked away losing his train of thought. "I can have Lucius' Malfoy- Draco's father stand in for you tomorrow, unfortunately I will be investigated too or I would do it.

Lucius will keep you safe for me." He said looking away. Green eyes blinked at the sudden change of topic before nodding.

"He won't mind?" Harry asked. Somewhere in their time spent together these last few weeks Harry had stopped asking him to price for everything but he still didn't believe that others didn't have a price.

"I'll let him know that he owes you for saving his son from a great deal of trouble at the beginning of the year." Severus said with a smirk, Harry smiled wryly and nodded.

"Thank you." He said struggling to hide a yawn. Severus smirked and stood slipping into his room for a moment and returning a moment later with a small blue vial.

"Dreamless sleep." He said handing Harry the potion. "This is my personal brew so you can rest assured that you won't be plagued by nightmares." Harry carefully accepted the potion. "You can sleep here it you'd like or in the hospital wing, I don't suggest going back to your dorm right now, the snakes are likely to pounce." Harry nodded.

"Can I sleep here then?" He asked looking around sheepishly. Severus nodded and flicked his wand at the plush couch transfiguring it into a bed.

"Dibs?" He called causing Harry to jerk as the elf appeared. "Some pillows and blankets for mister Potter here?" He asked rubbing his own tired eyes. The elf bobbed its head and snapped her fingers causing several warm blankets and two pillows to appear. It snapped its fingers again and the bed was made.

"Is master needing anything else?" the elf asked tilting her head to the side. Severus shook his head.

"No thank you Dibs." The elf bowed deeply and popped out. Harry was so tired he hardly flinched this time causing Severus to smile slightly. "Go on to sleep Potter, I need to reassure the snakes and call Lucius." Harry nodded sleepily and pulled the stopper from the vial drinking it down without complaint before slipping under the covers his eyes already closed before his head could hit the pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just wanted to tease you all, I just came up with the most delightful twist for later in this story and I think I can manage to make it work into the timeline as well (yaaaay)! hope you enjoy today's chapter!**

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
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_Chapter 4_

_Not a Hero_

Harry's eyes shot open and suddenly he was out of bed his wand in his hand the moment he felt the air in the room shift. It took a moment for his sleep addled brain to figure out that he was not in his dormitory, nor was he in his cupboard; rather that he was in a strange room with his wand trained on a stranger. His gaze, despite the striking figure that must have been Draco's father shifted towards Snape who seemed to be struggling not to sigh, frown or smirk leaving a rather interesting expression on his face. Slowly Harry lowered his wand his gaze returning to the tall slender figure of one Lucius Malfoy. His first thought of the man was directed by the man's smirk and the subtle tightening of his pale hand around the head of his cane- the man was obviously Slytherin through and through just like Draco had boasted. Of course where Draco was concerned Lucius Malfoy walked on water and could do anything he damn well pleased without anyone daring to get in his way. Harry however was not to be fooled by first appearances, Lucius Malfoy had power most certainly, a shivering amount that oozed off of the man, but he was still just that- a man.

"Forgive me Mister Malfoy." Harry said settling his wand on the coffee table as a sign of being disarmed though Harry knew that he could just as easily blast a hole through the man in front of him as he had the Troll. The man smirked and his hand relaxed from where it was gripping the head of his cane.

"A bit paranoid aren't we?" He quipped stepping further into the room as if he owned it. Severus, obviously used to the man's attitude rolled his eyes subtly and transfigured the bed Harry had been sleeping in back into a couch.

"Better paranoid than dead sir." Harry said tugging at his rumpled clothes, had he _really _fallen asleep in them?

"There are spells for getting the wrinkles out of clothes Potter." Snape said casting a few spells in his direction. Harry watched the wrinkles fade from his clothes with a soft ripple and looked up at the man with slight awe in his gaze.

"I don't suppose they would have a book with said spells in Hogwarts library would they?" He said tugging idly at the fabric. Snape snorted and flicked his wand. A book flew out from one of the many shelves lining the walls and into his hands. "_Three Thousand and One Ways__ to Remain Immaculate by Emit Barker_" Harry read with idle interest.

"That's my personal book Potter; you'd better return it to me in the same condition that you received it in. Oh, and add another week to your time in my potions stores." He added as a tea set appeared. Harry nodded slowly and sat down placing the book beside him with care. Snape in his own way was telling him to be wary around Lucius Malfoy, yet that the man could be trusted.

"Thank you sir." He said accepting the tea cup that floated towards him. Malfoy seemed to view the interaction with subtle interest his gray eyes flickering between them catching anything that he could from the stoic expressions.

"As you can probably guess, Mister Malfoy has agreed to represent you during your interview with the Aurors." Snape said diving into the topic at hand. Harry sipped at his tea and avoided physical reaction to the announcement.

"I can understand your hesitance to have your _muggle _relative represent you Mister Potter." Lucius said twisting the word muggle like it were something disgusting in his mouth. Harry, who was used to Draco reacting similarly smiled into his tea. "Of course this case should be relatively easy on your part since you are the hero slayer of the Troll."

He said taking a sip of his own tea. Harry couldn't help sneering at that point. He absolutely _hated _people calling him a hero.

"When one is faced with a magical creature that has already attacked and killed another human being, it should be instinct to destroy the threat as quickly as possible sir there was no _heroism _on my part." He said before taking another sip. He could practically _feel_

Malfoy smirk.

"Of course." The man said diplomatically though his tone said differently. Harry ignored it, again used to similar barbs from Draco.

"By the way did any one find out _why _that barbaric _thing _was wandering the hallway clubbing people to death?" Harry said hiding the slight tremble in his hands by placing the tea cup and saucer onto the coffee table. Snape did the same and leaned back.

"No idea." He said in a way which Harry was sure meant 'don't get involved.' Harry sighed and nodded easily.

"Alright but for future reference sake should anything else dangerous and creature-like with an intent to kill find its self wandering the hallways I would rather know about it if you don't mind." He said agreeably. Lucius chuckled and Severus spared him a glare.

"At any rate." Severus said pointedly. "The Aurors are already here and the Unspeakables are going over the area carefully, before we face them I should like to know if there is anything that we should know that we don't already." He said raising an eyebrow. Harry winced. Of course he hadn't really had time to think about it but…

"Do people normally blow trolls up with accidental magic?" He asked nearly sheepishly. He swore he could see the tick in the man's jaw as Lucius burst into a round of genuine laughter.

"Did you forget you had a wand?" Snape said with a sigh. Harry winced slightly at the man's annoyed tone.

"No…my magic…kind of had a mind of its own." He said so that Snape would understand. Dark eyes surveyed him for a moment before nodding to himself.

"Well since I was teaching you the reducto curse already the last spell on your wand should suffice. If that doesn't satisfy them then we could always point out that you are a first year barely learning to control your magic and it _was _a rather stressful situation." He said easily. Harry nodded in acceptance and relaxed slightly only to jump when the fireplace flared to life and the ashes appeared to form the shape of the headmaster's face.

"Severus, if you could bring mister Potter up to my office? The Auror's are ready to speak with him." He said looking less jolly than he had the night before.

"Of course headmaster." Severus said inclining his head slightly.

"Splendid." The headmaster said before disappearing in a flare of green fire. Harry glanced at his head of house trying not to look as stunned as he felt.

"So…I'm assuming it's a normal thing for faces to appear in fireplaces in the wizarding world?" He said causing the man to sigh and flick his wand at his book case where yet another book slipped out and floated towards Harry.

"Yes Potter, that's another two weeks by the way and spare me the need to warn you about what condition my book should be returned in?" He said before standing and sending the tea set back to the kitchen. Harry nodded.

"Does he know _anything_?" Lucius muttered in awe. Harry refused to scowl as he retrieved his wand. Snape moved to the fireplace and pulled a ceramic jar from the mantle holding it out to Lucius.

"This is floo powder." Severus said as Lucius took a handful of green powder and threw it into the fireplace.

"Headmaster's office." He said stepping right into the green flames. Harry stared up at Snape with wide eyes.

"Will it hurt?" He asked taking a handful shakily.

"No, though it might be a bit unpleasant." He said taking a handful for himself. Harry took a deep breath and tossed the floo powder into the grate waiting for the flames to turn green before hesitantly stepping into them sighing in relief when they didn't burn.

"Headmaster's office." He said clearly. Suddenly he felt like he was being tugged at and spun around at the same time. It was sheer luck that allowed him to catch sight of the fireplace with enough time to gauge his speed and how _not _to land in an ungraceful heap. He sighed in relief as he stepped out of the grate and quickly moved away from the fireplace twitching a bit in annoyance as he glared at the fireplace openly. "Well that was unpleasant." He said brushing off the front of his robes. "Haven't wizards ever heard of _walking_?" He muttered before turning around and realizing that he was being stared at by the majority of the people in the room. The floo flared to life again behind him and Snape strode out gracefully giving everyone his customary withering glare which made Harry feel marginally better. Dumbledore smiled tiredly at them before speaking.

"Very well, now that we are all here let us get started with the introductions." He said gesturing towards the two men in uniformed red robes the first with sandy colored hair and a young appearance, the second a dark haired man with a scar just above his lip.

"These two gentlemen here are Aurors Fredrick Walton and Walter Amos." The tall men tilted their heads forward slightly in greeting. "Beside them are a few of my staff members. Minerva McGonagall here is head of Gryffindor and our resident Transfiguration Professor." The stern woman nodded at them her eyes slightly red from crying. "and Poppy Pomfrey our school nurse." He said nodding congenially at the plump woman before turning his gaze towards them. "I'm sure you have already made acquaintance with Lucius Malfoy he is on the board of governors and I believe that I am correct in assuming that he will be representing Mister Potter as he is still a minor." He said smiling slightly though Harry could sense an obvious dislike for the man. Harry ignored the subtle widening of the younger looking Auror's eyes at the sound of his name and avoided watching the tell tale flush of hero worship. Malfoy however had no such qualms and smirked outright. "And of course Mister Potter's head of house and Hogwarts' resident potions master Severus Snape." Dumbledore said. Snape inclined his head towards the man who looked at him suspiciously though Harry wasn't sure why, most likely because he was a Slytherin- or because of the impressive glare he leveled the fidgety Auror with. Dumbledore clapped his hands together causing Harry to jerk slightly; Snape eyed him with a frown. "Very well, Amos?" He said inclining his head. The dark haired Auror stepped forward with a jerky nod.

"Mister Potter, Lord Malfoy if you would follow me I would like to get your statement and ask you a few questions. We have already interviewed Professor McGonagall, Nurse Pomfrey, headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape however; we will need to walk through what happened after the interview. If you would be so kind as to stay here until we are done interviewing Mister Potter?" He said gazing around at them.

"That would be agreeable." The headmaster said nodding his head shortly.

"Very well then gentlemen if you will follow me?" he said with a glance at Harry and Lucius. Harry steadied himself in his mind making sure to keep his breathing as calm and even as possible as they slipped into the small side room. The Auror whispered several spells that Harry didn't know before finally sitting down on the opposite side of where Harry and Lucius were sitting. "November the first nineteen ninety-one, this is Walter Amos speaking to one Harry James Potter-" Harry tuned the man out as he continued to drone on and focused on keeping himself calm. He hadn't really had time to think about what had happened, but he knew for certain that he would have to omit some things.

"Very well, mister Potter will you tell us exactly what happened last night?" The Auror said inclining his head to the side. Harry took a deep breath.

"I was in the dungeons helping Professor Snape in the potions storerooms-" The Auror leaned forwards slightly.

"May I ask why you were in the store rooms instead of with the other students enjoying the Halloween feast?" He asked cutting in. Harry frowned and grit his teeth.

"I'm not a very big fan of Halloween." He said tightly. The Auror frowned seeming completely confused by the idea.

"May I ask why?" He said furrowing his brow. Harry felt Malfoy tense beside him and something cool and dangerous slithered through him allowing him to focus not on the anger but on getting through this.

"On October 31, 1981 my parents were murdered, Halloween is a time for mourning for me, not a time for celebration." Harry said coldly. "Does that suffice?" He bit out. The man seemed to visibly shrink back seeming to suddenly remember something.

"Ah yes-" He began shuffling his papers awkwardly.

"As Mister Potter's guardian for this interview I would ask that you keep your questioning to the subject at hand." Lucius drawled his eyes flickering slightly. The Auror cleared his throat. Harry remained rigid.

"Umm, so you were in the dungeons helping your head of house." The Auror said unable to meet Harry's eyes. Harry would have smirked at the man's lack of poise if he wasn't so pissed.

"Professor Snape and I were working when we heard a bang from out in the hallway. The professor went to investigate while I supervised the house elves that were helping me clean. When they left and the Professor had not returned I signed out-" The Auror held up a hand.

"This had better be related to the case" Malfoy warned quietly when the temperature in the air around Harry dropped suddenly. The Auror nodded.

"You said you 'signed out' may I ask what that means?" He asked. Harry visibly relaxed.

"Because of the nature of the potions ingredients I often have to stay late in order to catalog them properly. Professor Snape has me sign the note book in case one of the prefects sees me out after curfew and tries to put me in detention. The note book magically notes the date and time when I sign my name." The Auror nodded and jotted something down.

"Very well please continue." He said with a wave of his hand.

"After signing out I was going to make my way up to the feast to grab something to eat and return to my dorms when I heard screaming-" he hesitated the words hard to get out.

"I had thought that Professor Snape must have found them first so I was just going to take a look to see what was happening or to see if the Professor needed me to get help." He breath hesitated. "But when I turned the corner the Troll was standing in front of her swinging his club." He swallowed thickly at the memory and allowed himself a pause to regain control.

"Mister Potter?" The Auror asked leaning forward in his chair. Harry knew his type, the man wanted the story now- because he hadn't been there. He hadn't felt what Harry had felt or seen what Harry saw.

"She was begging for help, screaming." He said his voice quiet and smooth. "And then the troll brought down his club and the screaming stopped." He said his voice holding no inflection, no emotion at all. "Then it lifted the club and hit her again and again." He said remembering the pulpy mess that her crushed body had made. "I don't know many curses especially not ones that would be able to take down a troll, but Professor Snape had taught me one earlier to help break down some of the old wooden cases that were going to be replaced. "So I pointed my wand at the Troll and cast a Reducto- I don't remember anything after that. When I woke up I was in the shower and a house elf was helping me wash off the blood." He finished easily. He was rather proud of himself in the end; he'd managed to keep from embarrassing himself. The silence in the room disturbed him though, especially when the girls' screams were still echoing in his head. Malfoy cleared his throat obviously causing the Auror to startle out of his silence.

"Thank you Mister Potter." The Auror said shuffling his papers again before flicking his wand and standing.

"Now, will you be needing a break or will you be able to do the walk through now?" The man said smiling nervously. Harry frowned.

"We can go now." He said standing. Lucius followed quietly and Harry had the feeling that the man was amused as they made their way back to the headmasters' office. Snapes eyes were on them in an instant and some part of Harry that he hadn't realized was tense relaxed- which in turn made him tense once more this time to the very center of his being. Why was he being so relaxed around the man? The jolt of realization caused him to snap his head up his eyes boring into dark ones. Just what was Severus Snape up to? It was a question he had asked himself many times but still he had no answers.

"Ah, I see that you are done then?" Headmaster said with a small smile on his face. That was another thing- the night before he had _trusted _Snape instead of the headmaster. Bile rose up in the back of his throat. If there was one thing he had learned it was to never trust an adult. Vernon's beefy hands and the many times he'd suffered by them came to mind.

"Perhaps we should take a break?" Snape's voice drawled and Harry jerked his head up not realizing that he had dropped it while lost in thought. Dark eyes darted towards him before flickering away and Harry felt himself tense.

"Splendid id-" The headmaster began but Harry's voice deceptively calm even in his own ears cut through whatever the man had been about to say.

"If you don't mind headmaster, I think the Aurors would rather get this over with." Harry said curling his hands into fists under the hem of his sleeves so that no one could see them. Snape glanced at him with a sharp frown but Harry was still his heart thudding in his chest but his face blank and his mind struggling. He felt Lucius' raised eyebrow but refused to react. He'd been a fool to trust Snape, how could he have been so weak?

_Everything _had its price. Exactly what would be Snapes price? He realized belatedly that he had racked up quite a bill- he would have to pay it back and soon or the man would be able to demand something of him later. "Besides I don't want to miss class any more than

I have to." He added turning towards the headmaster whose face had fallen and the twinkle in his eyes dimmed. Lucius Malfoy cleared his throat beside him softly.

"I'm afraid that due to the circumstances the board of governors has decided to cancel the rest of the semester." Malfoy said causing Harry's and Snapes' head to snap towards the man. Dumbledore sighed and nodded.

"I'm afraid that what mister Malfoy has said is true Mister Potter, the other students are packing as we speak." The headmaster said sadly. Harry felt his heart jolt to a stop and he couldn't hide the flinch that jerked his entire body.

"W-What?" He said trembling slightly. "But we still have so much of the semester left how are we possibly going to make up for it!" His heart raced like a bird struggling to get free. Never trust adults…why hadn't he learned that lesson as well as he thought he had? He turned and looked up at Malfoy's impassive face and then slowly towards Snape's cold blank face. "You can't send me back to-" His jaw clicked shut as Snape snapped his attention to him his eyes burning. For the first time in his life he wanted to tell someone, wanted to tell Snape. But he couldn't. He shivered his mind racing to the time he'd told one of his teachers who he'd thought he could trust in grade school.

_Miss Green stared down at him with horrified eyes as he told her how he had gotten the burn on his arm. She'd seemed so kind, like she really cared- maybe…maybe she would take him away from that place. She pat his hair down soothingly as she half bent to him speaking lowly to him even though they were the only ones left in the class room. "Go home dear; I'll see what I can do." Hope sprang up inside of him as she smiled slightly down at him._

_"Ok." He'd said practically skipping out of the classroom. She would do something about it…and the Dursleys couldn't hurt him any more, maybe…maybe they might actually come to- his mind stuttered to a stop at the word 'love' and his breath caught in his throat. He imagined to himself Aunt Petunia petting his hair and telling him that he was a special little boy like miss Green did- or Vernon laughing aloud in that proud fatherly way he laughed whenever Dudley did something. Without noticing it his short feet sped forward in his rush to get home. Would Petunia hug him? He wondered how her hug might feel…would it be bony like she was? He had never been hugged before but despite the disgruntled look Dudley always got when she smothered him with one of them he had to have endured them for a reason right? His feet brushed the welcome mat of number four and without a thought he pushed the door open a smile on his face for the first time since he could remember._

_One look at his Aunt on the phone however had shattered those illusions. "Of course Miss Green you must understand he's a rather troubled child." She said glaring at him coldly her lips white with fury. "His parents were alcoholics, they were killed in a car crash because of it-" Harry's eyes widened in horror. Petunia **never **spoke of his parents. Tears welled up in his eyes in spite of himself; they had never told him how his parents had died…a car crash? They were drunk? "Yes such a shame, I'm afraid it might have something to do with this, he's constantly coming up with these wild stories. Just last week- oh well maybe I shouldn't tell you- well no I probably should. He told me that old Miss Fig across the street had-" She let out a little horrified gasp. "-had burnt one of her cats alive!" She tutted and Harry sagged back slightly. He'd never said that…why was Aunt Petunia lying about him? "Yes, well I'll let you get back to work, yes of course have a nice weekend." She hung up the phone and Harry shivered at the glint in her eye. "How. Dare. You." She hissed before striding forward and gripping his wrist wrenching him forwards despite his pained grunt as her boney fingers stabbed into his arm bruising him. "You little freak!" She screeched grabbing hold of the long wooden cutting board that sometimes doubled as a paddle when he'd been bad. Harry felt his eyes widen as it flew towards him and cried out when it hit his side sending flashes of white stars skittering past his eyes. Again, again, again she hit him each sweep of her surprisingly strong arms more painful than the last until her grip on the handle slipped and she accidentally hit the side of his head. Pain blossomed and exploded into shimmering stars before he slumped forward unable to feel anything more._

Harry flinched at the memory. His aunt had stuffed a wash cloth in his mouth and taped it over with duct tape, dragged him up to the attic and folded him into a suitcase while he was unconscious before padlocking it and leaving him there. When he woke no one could hear his muffled screams and the cramped space wouldn't allow him to move his arms enough to remove the make-shift gag. He was trapped, unable to move and locked in the darkness. At the time he'd had no idea where he was or when it had happened when he woke. He'd had no sense of time, no contact, nothing but pain and unheard tears. That had been on a Friday; his aunt had let him out on Monday, late in the afternoon when she checked to see if he was still alive. He could still remember her sneer when she realized that he hadn't died by the vicious blow to the head.

"Back to _where_? Mister Potter." Snape demanded drawing him from the memory. They held too much power over him he realized. He had relied on Malfoy during the interview because he had believed Snape when he said that Malfoy owed him one for keeping Draco out of trouble. Looking back it was a ridiculous excuse. And hadn't Snape said that

Malfoy was on the board of governors? Merlin they had walked in together- was Snape in on this? All at once the emotions that were struggling to boil over inside of him hissed to a forced simmer and then slowly turned very, very cold.

"Never mind, I was being insensitive after all a girl _did _die." He said smoothly before an idea struck him…maybe… "Even if she was a muggle." He said absently his eyes flickering innocently to catch Malfoy's expression. A flicker of a smile ghosted across his lips and elation welled inside of Harry only to drop a notch at the sight of Snape's furious glare. "I mean, this _is _a magical world…and we kind of do live next to a forest filled with _dangerous _creatures." He said his eyes darting away from Snape's expression towards Dumbledore's. The man's face had gone stony but as Harry spoke a spark of light flared within them. "If she was a muggle she probably didn't know that Trolls were dangerous, for all we know she could have been the one to let in the troll. I mean, we talk to ghosts and poltergeists- she might have thought that trolls were just as friendly." He said with a shrug. The others in the room seemed to take hold of the idea like wildfire nodding their heads slowly as they grew accustomed to it- except for Snape. Snape was staring at him, his eyes unreadable. Malfoy let out a low chuckle and raised his cane letting the cool metal slide across his smirking lips lightly in a thoughtful gesture.

"You know- perhaps the boy has a point, after all, he himself hadn't even heard of traveling by floo until Severus gave him the powder and showed him how." He said the barb causing Harry's jaw to tighten. The man was well aware that he was being manipulated, the question was- would he bite? "We have been saying for years that the mudbl- I mean muggle born students are woefully unprepared for such an _advanced_ magical school. If we close down the school because of this incident others, including those born into the magical society will suffer. Already those born into our world are held back because of how unused to magic the muggle borns are. Postpone sending the students home headmaster, I will discuss this with the board." He said his silver eyed gaze darting to Harry who was struggling to remain impassive. He hadn't really thought that far ahead, after all _he _didn't really know much about wizarding politics yet, but Malfoy had taken the bate and to him, even if he owed the man later as his gaze was suggesting, it was better than returning to Petunia.

The Aurors nodded steadily their expressions thoughtful- or at least one of them was. The other, the one that had been ogling him was only pretending that he was being thoughtful-

Harry could tell that the man had already made up his mind to believe whatever he said.

He realized belatedly that his fame could be useful in the future and took mental note of it. After all if a second grade teacher could believe that her student's tale of abuse was nothing but wild imaginations because the kind and oh so charitable aunt had assured her of it- what could he, poster boy for all that was good and righteous lead the masses of people worshiping him to believe? He wasn't a fool. He'd read up on every scrap of information that he could find about the night his parents had died, especially those few days leading up to the Halloween feast. All he got was fancy dramatized stories that made him look like some knight in shining armor when really he'd only been a toddler.

"Very well, whatever the case may be it still stands that we have a crime scene to attend to." The dark haired and more serious of the Aurors said with a short nod. The headmaster stood and shifted his robes around him.

"Yes, yes of course- now if you would follow me…" The walk down to the destroyed bathroom was a long one. Harry stared straight forward refusing to meet his head of houses gazes or the curious glances Malfoy sent him. Of course the smell hit them first. If the scent hadn't been disgusting enough when the troll was alive it was doubly worse dead. Harry felt his eyes water and flinched slightly when Malfoy pulled his wand from his cane and cast a charm on himself and then with a thoughtful glance at Harry who startled so much at the spell that he nearly fell. The result however was instant and Harry felt relieved when the smell dissipated and the vague smell of roses wafted into him ridding him of the horrid smell.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't cast spells on my students." Snape drawled with only the barest hint of a sneer on his lips. Malfoy snorted.

"Come now Severus no need to get petty, I was just helping the boy out." He said with a smirk. Harry however didn't hear Snape's retort. Instead he stilled his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the blood which had for the most part dried and had pooled far into the hallway. He felt eyes on his frozen form and willed himself to move in spite of them.

He would not be weak again, he would not let himself rely on Snape again- or Lucius

Malfoy, not if he could help it. The Aurors who had lead the party behind the headmaster gasped in shock as they rounded the corner and stepped into the bathroom. Flashes of blood painting the walls, covering him, oozing along his skin and off his clothes made him shudder though he hid it well. The blood sparked something inside of him though, and the fear slowly but surely began to fade as he too rounded the corner. Red…everywhere. He felt something inside him shift…blood; he had hurt someone, something. In that brief moment before the Troll was obliterated Harry had held the power over his life and death. He jumped when magic unconsciously crackled at his finger tips. He stared at them for a moment as if they were foreign before looking up. The others were staring in horror at the scene…except for two people.

Malfoy was watching him. Grey eyes alight with understanding and…excitement? Harry's eyes widened. Had he betrayed himself? Shown on his face the rush he'd felt at the thought of killing the troll? Malfoy's smirk said that he had and he forced himself to look away- only to meet an intense black eyed gaze. Professor Quirrell, the Defense against the dark arts professor had always struck him as being a bit- off. Being a Slytherin had allowed him to see through the stuttering mask the man wore- especially since the man couldn't seem to stop staring at him. At first he had thought it hero worship; others were prone to doing it so why not him? But the look was different… hungry in a way that worried him. He could see the glint of cruelty the man hid in his eyes; it was the same sort of cruelty that he had watched fade from Vernon's eyes. But now…now they were different…wary… One of the Aurors turned and stared at him with blatant shock.

"You did _this_? Merlin no wonder you-know-who didn't have a chance!" It was the wizard that had interrogated him earlier. A rush of anger slid through him and his eyes narrowed unaware of the fact that all eyes at turned to them in shock.

"How many fully trained wizards-" He said coolly his magic causing the temperature to drop quickly until the dried blood around his feet began to crystallize and become icy. "- do you think the Dark Lord managed to take down during the first war?" He said mimicking Snapes' dangerously silky undertones without realizing it. The Auror blanched slightly and Harry grit his teeth. "Let me rephrase the question hmmm?" He said tilting his head to the side. "How many people _died _by his hands?" He hissed viciously. "And yet you have the sheer _gall _to assume that a _toddler _managed to defeat him?" He said tilting his head to the side. It didn't matter that he was speaking to a grown man, he'd never felt respect for authority, not when it just meant that others had power over him.

Besides, he was angry. "Don't cheapen the deaths of the many that _died _to protect your peace filled life by believing in petty _fairy tales_. I may be only eleven years old, but even

I can tell you that whatever happened that night- it was not some happy ever after ending and I am no hero." Silence filled the empty bathroom and Harry took a careful breath calming himself, his head throbbed painfully as his hands unclenched. A low chuckle seemed to snap every one out of their open mouthed stare and Harry turned towards Malfoy who was smirking slightly as he traced the head of his cane across his bottom lip.

"I'm afraid he's spending too much time with you Severus." He said idly. "He's beginning to pick up some of your mannerisms." Harry remained passive despite Snapes sneer.

The rest of the walk-through was made in relative silence, the Aurors refused to look him in the eye as they had him describe what had happened and where he had been. It seemed obvious to Harry that neither man had really taken to mind what he'd said; rather they were impressed by his modesty or some such rot. By the end of the ordeal the one Auror was back to staring at him in awe and the other was simply nervous to be around him. It was all really aggravating, though Malfoy seemed to get a kick out of his suffering. Quirrell too, seemed unable to do anything more than stare at him his eyes dark and calculating even when he was stuttering through his part of the ordeal.

"Well, I think that we should speak to some of the girls' housemates, people who knew her, if she _did _have anything to do with letting the troll in there would likely be some sign." The Auror's said as they all made their way back to the headmaster's office.

"Excellent we can use that as an excuse to detain the students while mister Malfoy talks to the board of governors." The headmaster said glancing at the man in question over his half moon glasses. Harry, who had studiously been avoiding the mans' gaze glanced up and caught the man's eyes briefly. Something passed through them, something that he wasn't capable of understanding, yet he could swear that it felt like a connection had been made. In the short time the man had been around him he'd decided something about him that Harry wasn't even aware of. Pale lips turned upwards.

"Yes of course." He said before turning breaking their contact as he slipped towards the floo and a moment later spun away in a flare of green fire. The headmaster clapped his hands together, a habit Harry believed he would never get used to, which never failed to make him flinch. "Now, Harry, I believe that you will have just enough time to return to your dorm and climb in bed before the students return from the great hall." He said

pointedly. Harry felt a stirring of rebellion at the open manipulation but quelled it.

"Of course." He said studiously avoiding meeting any ones gaze as he made his way to

the door.

"Oh, Mister Potter, don't forget you left your things in my quarters, I will expect to see you later in order to pick them up." Snape drawled causing Harry to stiffen. The last thing he wanted right now was to be trapped alone with Snape; he man seemed to have a knack for getting him to let his guard down. It was something he couldn't afford. Never trust an adult.

"Of course sir." He said with a jerking nod of his head before slipping out of the room and down the steps.


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my goooosh, ok so I have many many ideas that will soon spill out from my fingers and into the next few chapters for the second book but just to warn you, so far my version of the book is longer than the original book and I'm not even half way done. There are a few twists that I'm taking in the second book that are going to take a lot of time to develop, I'm nearly there though, the ideas are currently sitting in my head waiting for me to have a day or three to simply sit down and work through the chapters. I am hoping to have book two done by the end of this month (hoping, not sure, hoping) so wish me luck. The plot it's self is actually turning out to be rather fun to write I've been wanting to do this for a few years now so I'm having a blast curving the structure of the story into something that I would want to happen. Anyway enough about me, on to the next chapter!  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 5_

_A Look in the Mirror,_

_The Terrifying truth._

Harry pressed his lips together as the gold gallons glinted in the dim light of the fireplace- a complete contrast to the dull worn wood of Snape's desk. Slowly dark eyes rose narrowing as thin lips tightened. "What is this?" He demanded softly his long fingered hands tightening slightly on the arms of his chair. Harry looked away, there was no use

lying to the man, not at this point.

"I don't like being in debt to you." He said his tone clipped while his eyes did everything they could to avoid the sudden flare he could feel in darker eyes.

"We've discussed this Potter." He said softly his tone deceptively calm. Harry gathered his courage and looked at the man trying to meet his eyes only to fail and settle his gaze on the man's shoulder.

"A few chores? To make up for everything you've done for me? I'm not a fool Professor, if things continue like this I'll have a hard time saying no when you ask me to do something that I don't want to do." He shook his head and took a step back, "No, I suppose I _am _a fool not to have realized that there are _other _professors at this school or even upper year students that would be too stupid to ask for anything more than a price

I'm willing to pay."

"And what price," Uh oh, Harry had heard that particular tone enough to know that the man's patience was wearing thin. The voice would take a deeper timbre and the edges of his intent would curl seductively- it was dangerous. "do you think I would demand of you that would be further than that which I have already _reluctantly _set? You _do _remember that it was _you _that insisted on my putting a price on the knowledge I offered to begin with?" Harry lifted his chin.

"But that's just it, why should you want to help me unless you have some use for me- and I don't mean cleaning out your stores! Don't think I didn't see your underhanded way of teaching me how to distinguish potions ingredients; it isn't some simple chore, or hard labor. Believe me, I _know _hard labor. You must have something in mind to want to help me! Is it Glory? You want me to win some sort of award and be acknowledged as the one that taught me? Just tell me! I don't mind honestly it's not like it hasn't been done before, but still. The way you treat me- it's like you _care_. And not just about what you can get out of it either, so what do you want? Gold? Glory? Some debt that you want repaid later?" Harry could have kicked himself as he finished his chest heaving with effort. He'd said too much, gotten too emotional. All at once he calmed himself returning to the boy who served his family to the best of his abilities without complaint and without expecting anything in return. Snape was eying him, a glint in his eyes that Harry couldn't help but feel worried about. Harry's face remained blank when Snape reached into his pocket but couldn't help but flinch visibly when the hand returned with a wand. Oh god…he hadn't thought about it before but…magic could be a lot more damaging than a fist. He thought of the troll and of how he'd managed to obliterate it and then realized just how ungrateful he'd just sounded. He didn't realize it, but he'd begun to tremble, if he had-had ever _yelled_ like that to his uncle- oh no talked back! He was stumbling back now his arms rose in front of his face in a protective gesture as he fell to the stone floor and continued to scramble back.

"Potter?" The man's voice sounded like an echo and Harry was shaking the suspense horrid as he awaited his punishment.

"N-no please, please I'm sorry-! I didn't mean to talk back please- oh God don't kill me!"

Now he'd don't it- they'd probably kick him out if they didn't kill him first! His breathing was coming in sharp pants and his eyes were widening. No! He'd said that he'd never let it happen again! No one could hurt him! No!

"Damn it Potter! Drink this!" _Drink it boy, drink it all down…keep drinking, that'll teach you not to spill water all over the place… _Gasping he swept his hand out to knock it awayonly to freeze when a strong firmly gripped his wrist.

"Yes uncle." He whispered, his body relaxing allowing the wet slide of something thick and disgusting pour down his throat. Two gallons…he could remember, two gallons of filthy soapy water from washing the car. Drinking it all, his uncle watching daring him to throw it up or to disobey him- his crime? Spilling a bit of it on his aunts nice clean floors. Because it was too heavy for his six-year-old frame, and Dudley's cast downs were too big and baggy which made it harder to walk. Surely, but slowly the image faded away and his body felt heavy- calm, languid, like nothing could possibly be wrong. _Drink this_.

"A potion?" He whispered dazedly before blinking his eyes and realizing that he was still in Snapes' personal office. The man had his wand out his eyes wide with horror. Almost like- like he'd read his mind…but that wasn't possible- but then this was the wizarding world wasn't it? Anything was possible.

"A calming drought." Snape said belatedly. Harry nodded slowly.

"Sure feels like it." He said tilting his head to the side. "You were in my head weren't you?" He said softly. A voice inside of him was screaming at the prospect. Snape couldn't be in his head because- because-

"Yes." The man said his voice rough. Harry knew that should be alarming, but it wasn't, even when he thought about what his aunt might do to him…

"Oh." He said nodding slowly. "Don't worry about it…Vernon's dead." He said nodding to himself a small sort of calm smile on his face. That's right he'd killed Vernon hadn't he? Slowly smile slipped away though. "Are you going to kill me? I don't want to die but well- if you aren't going to kill me- which I would really prefer it if you didn't- could you maybe not um…tell my aunt? Last time she-" But then the heavy fog of calm was lifting and the thick terror replaced it. His body began to shake again. No- NO!

"Potter…" Snape was looking at him his expression worried- he had a reason to be Harry realized, because Harry wasn't going to let anyone hurt him again- ever! Suddenly he was standing his hands held out.

"I'll kill you if you even try it!" He cried terror edging on hysteria. "Tell anyone and I'll kill you! Try to hurt me and I'll blow you to smithereens!" Snape took a step back then his eyes flashing slightly.

"Potter put your hand's down!" But Harry had heard enough- and then common sense filled him and he realized that this was one of those times where he was helpless. He might know magic but so did the man before him. He had to get away! Had to get away!

And then he was running. Running as fast as his feet could carry him through the darkened hallways with no destination in mind his footsteps the barest whisper across the stones.

"Who's there!" Filch! Harry gasped and turned sharply running through the first doorway he could find. He glanced desperately around the room which was set up like a stadium with raised steps of rows of broken desks and chairs. There! A glint, an oblong item that he was just small enough to hide behind- "I'll find you!" Harry ducked behind it clutching

his legs to his chest and struggled to calm his breathing into silence. He could hear the pound of approaching footsteps and froze closing his eyes tightly he could hear a whish of cloth and annoyed muttering…and then the footsteps were pounding away. It took a long while it seemed before he could move his trembling body and struggle to stand brushing himself off warily as he glanced around his eyes catching on what he was hiding behind.

A mirror?

Carefully he reached out and traced his fingers across the gold filigree where words sat. -_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_- Part of Harry's mind wondered if he should be cautious around such a thing, certainly if it was in a magical school then it- A flash. Something called to him and his eyes were dragged to the surface only to widen.

"Mother…" There she was…all his life he'd longed to see her, longed to know what both his parents looked like and there she was…smiling at him sadly…before blinking away. Harry frowned as his aunt Petunia's form took his mother's place her face twisting into a horrible scowl as she lunged at him only to gasp her eyes bugging out as she reached up and began scraping her nails down her throat tearing the fragile skin to shreds as she gasped for air. And then she was screaming writhing around _bleeding _and then she was dead. Slowly the image changed and he could see something- someone, tall broad _strong_. His eyes widened as the image cleared and he realized that it was himself, older stronger, wiser, _invincible_. He could feel it, the power oozing from his image. The man in the mirror would never be hurt he could tell- but then the man in the mirror wasn't alone. A blurred figure came up beside the image and reached out a hand settling it on his image's shoulder. The older version of him bore a hardened expression which softened as he turned and smiled at the blurred person. Harry reached out then, wanting to be nearer to the two of them, wanting what they had whatever it was- only, his fingers brushed the cool surface of the mirror. He snatched his hand back and stared at it in awe for a moment before returning to the figures in the mirror.

He would become that man…powerful, unstoppable, doing whatever he wanted. He would kill anyone who got in his way or tried to hurt him! He raised his hand and settled it against the cool glass his eyes gazing at the figure in the mirror. He glanced again at the etchings before slowly pulling away. He needed to return to his dorm room, he would deal with Snape later, probably pass off what the man had seen as a dream or something…yeah, though he doubted the man would care…really no one cared. He glanced back at the mirror once more before turning and striding out of the room.

_(A/n in the books Harry doesn't find the mirror until December 25, however for the_

_purposes of events that will be taking place I was forced to move things around a bit,_

_sorry if it bothers you!)_

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

Snape was sitting in the common room when he arrived his dark eyes staring into the fireplace with glittering intent. Part of Harry wanted to run away or to threaten the man again; instead he stood in the doorway using his mind to search for a way out of this.

"You know." He said quietly before coming around and sitting pretending that the short distance between them didn't bother him. "I'm pretty sure that reading people's minds isn't something that you're supposed to do." He said quietly. Snape snorted and smirked slightly.

"Cut it out Potter." He said before lifting his gaze a certain amount of…something, understanding maybe glittering in their depths. Harry looked away.

"I don't suppose you could just forget that it happened?" Harry tried only to flinch visibly at the man's bitter laugh.

"No Potter, I don't suppose that I can." He said shaking his head. "But it does explain some things at least." Harry's head shot up his eyes hard. He really didn't want to but if he had to…well he could kill the man couldn't he? No, that would be unwise, at the moment

Snape was his only way of gaining the knowledge he'd need to succeed- as if he'd read that thought Snape reached into his cloak and pulled out a few books plopping them on the low table between them. "I'm not about to tell anyone either since it seems that your uncle's death has solved the problem." He said nodding slowly. "However, I will demand this for my silence." He said leaning forward. "If things get bad or you need help you will talk to me is that understood?" Snape said his voice hard. This Harry was used to, orders, demands, yes he could follow them, though he doubted he would tell Snape anything. If his aunt ever tried anything again he would kill her, just like Vernon.

"Alright." He agreed through his teeth. Snape nodded jerkily before reaching into his pocket and pulling out several vials of something brownish and lumpy. Carefully he looked up at the man in question.

"They don't feed you very well do they?" Snape said narrowing his eyes. Harry dodged the glance and stiffened. "Answer Potter." Harry pressed his lips together but nodded slowly.

"Then you will start taking these every day until you are up to the weight and height a boy your age should be up to. Don't worry about running out I will give you a fresh batch at the end of the week, which should last you a month. Take one before you go to bed at night and one in the morning when you wake up, I will know if you don't drink them."

Harry frowned but nodded. He could probably pour them- "I will also know if you pour them out." Snape said a small smirk twitching at the corner of his lips. Harry frowned.

"And in return?" He bit out. Snape's smirk faltered.

"In return you will see to it that you eat healthy portions of food every day from now on, none of this poking your food around your plate bit. If I have to I'll have the elves check every day to make sure that you're eating properly. Oh and you should also probably start exercising regularly as well, one or two laps around the quidditch pitch for starters, ease your way up to a mile slowly." Harry stared at the man as if he were crazy, which to= him…well the man was acting crazy.

"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked suspiciously. Snape's lips curled slightly.

"Because you need someone to do this for you, because you should have had someone to do this for you but no one has and, because I _want _to." He said clearly. Harry frowned.

Why would anyone _want _to do that? He was just a burden.

"If you hurt me I'll kill you." He said carefully. Something flared in the man's eyes and then died.

"_If _I hurt you, you may feel free to _try_." He said with a smirk before standing. "Ah yes and I've taken the liberty of putting your gold to better use, for future reference if you are looking to invest in a company I know of several which happen to be very lucrative and worth while. As it is you will be receiving at least double the amount you gave me every two months though you will need to sign something in order to have it deposited directly to your Gringotts account." He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a form settling it on the table. Harry blinked at it for a moment.

"Invest?" Harry asked looking at the parchment and scanning it. "Oh…Uncle Vernon used to do this, you put money into a business and when they make money you get some too right?" He asked curiously his fears forgotten as his mind began to work through the complicated words on the parchment.

"Indeed, however it is always best to choose wisely lest the business go under and leave you with nothing, not even the money you put forward in the first place." Harry nodded.

That had happened once to his uncle…the result hadn't been pretty. Rather it had landed him with a beating that he wasn't likely to forget. Would Snape- His thoughts stopped abruptly and his eyes hesitantly slipped up.

"You- I was rude earlier…you- you aren't going to- to hit me?" He asked flinching even as he said the words. Snape's calm demeanor tightened.

"No Potter I will endeavor not to hit you or curse you even if you are rude at times."

Harry tensed. That didn't really mean anything did it? Snape seemed to sense this. "If you do something wrong I will tell you exactly what your punishment will be before I punish you. Here at Hogwarts we are strict about what is called corporal punishment Potter, you will never have to worry about one of your professors striking you or cursing you. There are spells that prevent such situations and if anyone were to hit you it would most certainly be cause for dismissal. In fact I have a book on it if you are interested in the subject…" He said thoughtfully. "I'll give it to you tomorrow when you come to the potions stores." Harry nodded slowly.

"So…magic won't let you hurt me?" Harry said almost timidly. Snape sneered slightly.

"_I _won't let me hurt you Potter; the spells are just so that if there was a Professor who would dare harm a child they would be stopped before they could do so and alert the headmaster that they tried." Snape said crisply before softening his expression a bit.

"You'll be alright Potter." He said quietly. Harry nodded slowly and looked away wondering if he should believe the man.

"Thank you professor." Harry said quietly before lifting his gaze. "For everything." The man nodded his head jerkily.

"Good night Potter." He said softly. Harry nodded.

"Night' Professor." He said looking at the bottles of potion with a critical eye.

$%^$%^$%^$%^

**Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok so short note I've been very sick this past week and extremely busy so I actually haven't had time to do much work with the second book but I will hopefully be able to write a bit today and tomorrow. Wish me luck!  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
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_Chapter 6_

_Merry Christmas_

Hogwarts much to Harry's surprise mourned the death of the muggle girl far less than he'd thought they would. He knew very little about the girl himself, but from what the other Slytherins had rather snidely reported, no one had liked her very much at all.

"She was a stuck-up ninny that was constantly harping everyone about studying or about the rules." Draco had said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Her own house didn't like herso much for Gryffindor loyalty!" He'd said with an easy shrug of his shoulders. Harry nodded and let Draco talk as they headed to the Great Hall. His eyes wandered down a corridor where he knew that the Mirror sat awaiting him. He'd gone back to it a few times since Halloween- for scientific purposes he assured himself. He'd gone with a charmed bag full of books and sat for hours researching the mirror. Of course he'd found very little about it so far, but he'd learned a lot about other magical mirrors- not that it mattered. He sighed quietly and continued to follow Draco. Crabb and Goyle had apparently taken off to the kitchens again and Harry knew by experience that Draco _hated _not having anyone around to prattle on to. Of course this had several perks considering he was more likely to give Harry information when in this mood. Harry supposed that the other Slytherin had taken it upon himself to take Harry under his wing, especially after Harry had apparently impressed his father. In fact it was all he could do to shut the boy up most days.

"Oh their putting up the tree!" Draco hissed loudly startling Harry with his sudden childlike glee. Harry frowned and looked to the side before paling at the sight of an enormous Christmas tree.

"Hagrid said he chopped down one of the largest ones in the forbidden forest this year!"

One of the other Slytherin first-years said with similar cheer. Harry hesitantly took a step back from the slowly growing crowd of people. The tree of course was magnificent, but to Harry it only served as a frightening reminder of the Dursleys. They rather didn't like having him around for Christmas. He could almost feel the cold from the shed in the back yard; they would shove him in there the day he and Dudley got out from school. Since Vernon rarely actually did any gardening, the shed was really quite empty so it wasn't as cramped as his cupboard. And the lumpy old mattress they left propped up against the wall wasn't so bad to sleep on- just a bit smelly. And at least around that time he'd be allowed as much food as he wanted, his aunt would always leave him a large crate of tins and a can opener. The only thing he could complain about really were the two large mop buckets that he had to use as a toilet until the holls were over, and the fact that he had nothing but a pile of old blankets and tarps to stave off the cold. And it got cold. Many times he wasn't even able to leave the cocoon of blankets he'd constructed for fear of losing the little bit of heat he had. He'd hold his piss for hours some times for fear of freezing to death.

"I can't wait to get home; Father's bound to get me a Nimbus this year I just know it!"

Draco startled him as he bounced on his heels clapping his hands like a two year old.

"What do you think you'll get?" He said swinging around only to catch Harry's confused look.

"Get?" he asked cautiously. Truthfully no one had ever asked him that question before.

He didn't really know how to answer. Slowly he shook his head coming up with an excuse on the spot. "I'm not going back to the muggles for the holidays, I'll stay here." He said avoiding Draco's gaze.

"Not…going home?" Draco said as if it was the strangest thing he'd ever heard. Harry winced slightly.

"So you think your father is going to get you a Nimbus 2000?" He prompted. All at once

Draco's face shifted and he was off chatting about the different things he'd get for Christmas. Harry smiled indulgently and followed wincing at the sound of Christmas songs. He could remember on Christmas day every year, no matter how cold it got, climbing over to the small frost covered window to watch the Dursleys. It was a blatant reminder that they didn't want him- that he was a freak, but he couldn't help but watch them, a deep aching longing in his chest that never fully went away. He sneered into his food at the weakness and ate quickly without sparing a glance at the Christmas decorations.

#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#

Snape looked entirely shocked to see him on the twenty third sitting on the floor of the store rooms while he went through a crate of different varieties of teeth. They'd met an uneasy truce in the past few weeks and Harry constantly found himself worrying that the man would say something about his relatives. In fact this was one of those times. Dark eyes seemed to darken further in understanding before the man nodded and much to

Harry's surprise climbed to the floor with him to help go through the crate.

Snape was a conundrum Harry decided, a variable that he hadn't accounted for in his future. Even after he'd talked back- no, nearly _yelled _at the man to his face Snape hadn't punished him. He even gave Harry the box of his parents things just as he'd promised after Harry had recited the list of feathers and their uses. Merlin, Harry had wondered at the fact that Snape actually made him recite the _entire _book. But he'd done it and Snapes only response was to hand him the box along with a thicker volume on the varieties of _hair _that could be used in potions. According to Snape there were three volumes he'd have to get through in order to have every variety of hair memorized. For once Harry didn't question the man on the price, instead he simply accepted it. Now as he sat in the quiet echoing rooms he couldn't help but feel almost at ease with the man.

"I assume that there is a reason that you are not returning to your aunt's home fore the Yule holidays?" Snape asked sounding distinctly uncomfortable. Harry glanced up at the man in shock, he'd thought that Snape of all people wouldn't press for answers- well, perhaps he wasn't. Harry tensed but nodded. If the man hadn't run telling the world about

Vernon…well, he supposed he could give him this.

"I wouldn't want to ruin her Christmas." Harry said a bit wryly. Snape paused and nodded slowly.

"Will you tell me how you usually spend the holidays?" He asked almost hesitantly. Harry tensed, his hand pausing over the label he was peeling off. Something thick sat in the back of his throat as he remembered the soft glow of the window as he pressed his face to the glass to try to see the Dursley's better.

"No." He said his voice low and raspy. Slowly he returned to peeling the label off of the jar. "It doesn't matter anyway." He said tossing the label away and sinking the filthy jar into the cleaning solution. He could feel Snapes eyes on him, dark, intense, and unreadable.

"It matters to me." Snape said setting the jar he was holding in his hand onto the floor.

Harry paused and frowned before looking up at the man suspiciously.

"Why?" He wondered aloud. "Worrying about how I spend my holidays goes a bit beyond head of house duties doesn't' it?" He said cautiously. "A lot of what you've done for me goes beyond your requirements as my head of house." He added thoughtfully. "I don't understand it really, what would you want with a scrawny four-eyed freak?" he shook his head and continued to clean unaware of Snape's suddenly still hands.

"You are not a freak." Snape said his voice suddenly harsh causing Harry to jump and turn around wide-eyed in fear. Snape seemed to compose himself then and took a deep breath. "You are a child, a child who deserves being spoiled for Christmas. A child who should be staring at the Christmas decorations with wide eyed wonder as he thinks about how many sweets he can possibly consume in the shortest amount of time. You should be at home being coddled by your parents because you've been gone and they've missed you, not here in the cold dungeons with your bitter head of house!" The man snapped his eyes flaring to life. Harry shrank back a bit at that before looking away trying and failing to wipe away the tears that poured from his eyes. Ouch…that had stung, more than Harry was willing to admit.

"We can't all have that Professor." He said softly making sure to hide his face as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeves. "Some of us just make do with what we have." He said smiling sadly as he continued to wash the jars and set them aside drying them with a flick of his wrist. He rarely needed his wand any more; in fact the only time he used it was when he was in the class room. "Christmas is a day, just like any other." He recited, after all that was what he'd been telling himself for years. Snape pursed his lips but said nothing more though Harry could wonder at the slight glitter in the man's eyes.

On the twenty fourth Harry was unsurprised to wake up to an empty dorm, the others had left already to their homes and their families. For the first time he didn't bother to get dressed, it had taken him a few days to get used to having the dorms to himself and after being surrounded by so much noise so much of the time it was almost nice to be able to relax in the common room with a book or twelve. Today however Harry had decided that it was high time he opened the box Snape had given him. He hadn't had the courage to do so before but after several days of knowing it was there and looking at it out of the corner of his eye he knew that today he would open it. At first his hands shook as they caressed the lid, but the yearning inside of him grew and grew and grew until at last he slipped his fingers under the edges and pried the lid open. A smell, a familiar smell wafted out and an incredible ache rose in his chest once he was able to identify it. It smelled like home. For a moment he simply sat in his pajamas staring at the contents. On the very top of the pile was a knit blue blanket with silver stitching.

H.J.P

He had a similar one hidden away in his trunk, the one he'd been using the night Petunia had found him on her stoop. With trembling fingers he lifted the blanket and pressed it to his face.

Home.

He had no memories of home; home was something that had been torn from him before he could know what it meant. He only knew that as a child no matter how terrible things had gotten the smell of home had wrapped him in a sense of safety that calmed him. He smiled into the soft cloth feeling calmer an echo of a gentle voice sounding in his ears. Carefully he set the cloth to the side and reached in to pull out the next item. A photo album. The faint smell of ashes made him uneasy but when he opened it- it was all he could do to keep from crying.

Lily and James Potter

In the photo they were young, fresh out of Hogwarts according to the dates. James Potter was visibly very similar to Harry but he knew immediately that he was more like his mother in every other way. Whereas James was carefree and mischievous, Lily was calm and obviously intelligent. He caressed the picture for a moment before turning the page.

There weren't many pictures of them in the photo album, and the ones that were there were for the most part damaged from the explosion that had destroyed the Dark Lord, but with each picture he could feel something inside of him soothed over. Once upon a time he had been loved, he'd had a family, and just like he'd come to understand, he had been special. When he finally closed the album it was with a sense of closure.

He, Harry James Potter, had been loved.

He frowned slightly at how fragile he felt before reverently setting the album aside. He would have to place the album in his vault on his next visit, it was something truly precious and he would protect it. The rest of the items in the box were simple; nick-knacks that were both familiar and unfamiliar to him, but somehow each thing was precious. It had belonged to a time in his life where he had been loved and he knew without a doubt that they too would be going into his vault. Satisfied now that he'd finally opened the box he replaced them his fingers lingering for a moment on the small blue blanket. Without a second thought he summoned the one in his trunk and folded it putting both blankets into the box. he didn't need them any more he realized, he knew he had been loved and that was enough. He knew that he could take care of himself now and that the people in the pictures were nearly strangers to him. They would always stay in his heart, cherished for their sacrifices, but he knew it was time to move on. They were dead and he was alive. No matter how much he might wish that night had never happened, it had. Smiling slightly he gazed at his books with renewed determination.

Someday he would be strong; he would prove to them all that he was better!

$%^&%^&%*^&*%^*

Snape was waiting for him on the twenty-fifth. At first he hadn't noticed the man having come down with his nose already trapped between the pages of a book, but Snape cleared his throat and Harry very nearly dropped said book catching it at the last moment.

"Professor?" He said blinking owlishly at the man belatedly noticing that he'd gotten used to wearing his pajamas around the dorms. With a squeak he rushed up the stairs and dressed himself needing several of the charms Snape's book had taught him to have it done on time and looking neat. The second time he came down Snape was smirking at him behind his hand.

"Much better." He said crisply. Harry gazed at the man suspiciously.

"Sir? Is there something you needed?" He asked cautiously. Snapes eyes glittered and

Harry knew immediately that he was up to something.

"Well you see, every year I join the Malfoy family for their Yule celebrations. This year apparently, Draco mentioned that you would be staying at the castle which in turn lead to

Lucius demanding that I bring you with me." He said with a slight shrug. Harry stared at the man in complete shock.

"Christmas." He said blankly.

"MMMhmmm." Snape said raising an eyebrow.

"With the Malfoys." He said just as blankly.

"Yes." Snape drawled and Harry couldn't help but snort.

"And _Draco _invited me?" He said tilting his head to the side his eyes narrowed. Snape looked away pointedly.

"Hmmmm." He hummed in what could be construed as agreement.

"The very same Draco who can't see anything past his own pointed nose?" He questioned feeling slightly touched and slightly wary. Christmas? Snape frowned and crossed his arms.

"You'd best gather up your presents, I assure you that Draco won't want to wait long." He said causing Harry to frown again his gaze traveling towards the Christmas tree where he could just barely see a few wrapped parcels tucked under the branches. His heart gave a rough squeeze.

"Presents?" He said slightly breathlessly his eyes growing wide. Snape's look softened.

"Yes Potter, presents." He assured. It took a moment for Harry to move again and when he did his legs were numb his hands shaking as he reached out and pulled out the parcels and cradled them in his arms. Belatedly he noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks.

His legs went weak and suddenly he was slumping to the floor sobbing. "Potter!" Snape rushed forward and Harry shook his head wiping away the tears.

"Its silly...I just...I always dreamed, always wanted..." He smiled weakly and flicked his wrist casting a few charms to rid him of any evidence that he'd just been crying. Snape gazed at him for a moment his eyes becoming hard.

"If that man weren't dead..." he muttered quietly. Harry shook his head.

"But he is dead, and things will get better, they already are." He said clutching his presents to himself before standing and taking a deep breath. "Shall we? Draco must be seething by now." He said chuckling slightly. Snape gave him a tight smile before leading him out of the room.

$%^%^$%^

Harry stepped out of the floo and balked at being immediately accosted by a bouncing

Draco. "You're here, You're here, You're here! Faaaaather they're heeeere!" Draco said bouncing around Harry who wasn't sure whether to laugh or simply stare in shock.

"Draco _please!_" A female voice cut in exasperated. Harry had been around Draco long enough to know immediately that the tall elegant woman was his mother, she was constantly doting on him. Harry couldn't help but snort at Draco's large puppy dog eyes. This was the scene that Snape flooed into and surprisingly the man didn't seem phased by it in the least.

"Draco please, for once in your life show an ounce of decorum." Lucius Malfoy said striding into the room his eyes lighting on Harry briefly. "Ah welcome, I was beginning to wonder if you two were coming at all." he said glaring slightly at Draco who remained unrepentant and petulant.

"PRESENTS!" He cried out shocking Harry so much that he almost dropped his own gifts. Snape snorted loudly and covered it with a cough as Draco went running leaving Lucius twitching.

"Darling, just how much candy have you given Draco?" He asked sounding pained.

Narcissa lifted her nose.

"Well, I didn't have a study to escape to now did I? I had to keep him occupied somehow." She said before turning and following her son. Harry watched in shock, whatever he'd been expecting, this hadn't been it. Draco was like a polar opposite of his father but it was obvious that Lucius didn't have the heart to stop it. He hid his smile as

Snape settled a hand on his shoulder.

"Well Lucius?" Snape prompted causing the man to look away from his wife's retreating form.

"Ah yes of course, I apologize for their behavior mister Potter, Draco can be quite..._excitable _on holidays." Snape snorted causing Lucius to glare weakly. Harry nodded his head.

"It's alright sir, I'm sorry if I'm intruding on your Christmas-" he started feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

"Nonsense!" Lucius said with a wave of his hand. "We're delighted to have you. Now, I suppose we ought to adjourn to the other room before it's too littered with wrapping paper to get through." He said with a slight wince before leading them out of the room and down a long hall. Harry stared in awe at the high vaulted ceilings and portraits of blonde men and women wearing severe expressions. He'd always known that Draco came from money but to see it first hand...a part of him clenched. He would have this someday. Malfoy sighed heavily and it was all Harry could do not to laugh as they stepped into a large drawing room with a tree so large it would have dwarfed Hagrid. Draco was already knee deep in wrapping paper his face alight with giddy glee as Narcissa watched on with obvious warmth well out of the way. Draco seemed to know the moment they stepped into the room because suddenly he was running, jumping and _soaring _through the room on his new broom causing Lucius to twitch visibly.

"Harrrrrryyyyyy!" Draco said swooping down with a slightly maniac look in his eyes.

"See I told you! I told you he would get if for me! Thank you, thank you, thank you father!" Draco said turning towards Lucius and bouncing on his heels. Lucius sighed.

"You are very welcome Draco." He said before watching as his son took off. Snape guided Harry at a more sedate pace towards the couch.

"Go on Potter open your gifts." he muttered before joining Narcissa and Lucius at a small table where tea was set up. Harry gazed at the gifts in his hand in awe for a moment longer before carefully peeling back the paper. His hands fingered the cool shimmering cloth for a moment before he pulled it out.

"What'd you get!" Draco said hopping over to him snatching up the small note. "Harry, this once belonged to your father, use it well?" he said confused. "Hey! They didn't sign their name!" Draco said looking up only to gawk. "No way!" He said in surprise. Harry looked down at himself startling when he realized that his body was gone. he'd just slipped the cloak over his shoulders and- "An invisibility cloak?" Harry pulled off the shimmering material and stared at it in shock. It had been his fathers?

"Blast that old man." Snape muttered darkly behind them. Harry flinched dropping the gift as if it had burned him and looked up at the man. He'd known it was too good to be true, the presents the Christmas- But Snape was suddenly there handing him the cloak.

"Not you Potter, the meddling old coot called a headmaster." He muttered soothingly.

Harry shrank back though still unsure of himself.

"Merlin Severus look what you've done, the boy's scared witless!" Narcissa Malfoy said rising up and pushing Snape aside. "Don't worry; hush now you're all right." Harry stared blankly at the woman who was shushing him and smoothing his hair down the way

Petunia was prone to do whenever Dudley was in a tizzy. No one had ever fussed over him like that. He blinked slowly. He didn't know whether to lean into the touches or to step away; in his indecision he stood still eyes wary.

"I'm fine thank you mam." He said quietly not wanting to be rude. Lucius seemed to sense his discomfort and easily guided his wife away.

"Now dear, let the boy finish opening his presents." Harry blinked and looked down at the cloak in his hand before carefully folding it and placing it back in the wrapping.

Cautiously he lifted the second gift which was actually three wrapped parcels tied together with a bit of ribbon and opened the first gasping slightly at the sight of the green shirt. Living with the Dursleys had taught him from a young age how to tell the difference between finely cut brand names and cheap knock-offs, _this _was no knock-off. He pulled the shirt out carefully his eyes darting across the even stitching and the clean cut of the shape only to widen his gaze when another shirt, this one black caught his gaze. Quickly he searched for the gift tag only to frown when he didn't find it, had it fallen off in the common room? Who would possibly get him something like this! He was a freak he didn't deserve-

He was not a freak

He was special

He was better than them

The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything

Right was the opposite of what they said

He deserved better than this

His gaze hallowed a bit at the familiar thoughts. Yes, he deserved this, finery like these...but who would have gotten them for him? He glanced up at the Malfoys to find them pointedly looking away. Oh? And what did they want in return? A glance at Draco told him all he needed to know, they wanted him to protect their naive son. He smiled slightly. He didn't mind that, Draco was rather entertaining at times. He lifted the black shirt and nearly gasped again at the sight of the white one beneath that- three shirts couldn't have fit in the packaging unless- he lifted the white shirt and found a gray one and beneath that a blue one, and then a soft turtleneck, and then another and another. Merlin they had bought him a whole new wardrobe and spelled the packaging to hide it!

"Is something wrong dear?" Narcissa said sipping her tea to hide her slight smile. Harry shook his head slowly.

"No mam- I just-" he shook his head. "It's too much I couldn't possibly-" Snape cut him off.

"Oh but you will Mister Potter and before you say what you're thinking no, there is no ulterior motive other than Narcissa here loving to shop." He said pointedly. Narcissa glared half - heartedly.

"Severus he wasn't supposed to know it was us!" She said pouting visibly telling Harry exactly where Draco got his childish side. Harry shook his head and Lucius smirked slightly.

"Accept it Potter being our son's friend does have its perks you know." He said inclining his head slightly. Harry nodded numbly before carefully folding the many shirts and placing them back into the endless wrapping paper. He almost hesitated to open the second one and nearly sighed in exasperation at the sight of a pair of trousers also finely cut and also hiding at least twelve other pairs of trousers.

"Lady Malfoy!" He said shaking his head only to have her lift her nose at him though she was smiling as she did so. Harry sighed and gave up before folding the trousers and returning them to the paper before opening the last of the three parcels unsurprised to find several sets of proper wizarding robes. Something inside of him thawed a bit as he touched the soft cloth. Perhaps it was knowing that he too had once been loved, but somehow it wasn't all that unbelievable that the Malfoy Matriarch had done this on a pure maternal whim even though she'd never met him. "Thank you." He said quietly a small smile on his face as he gazed up at Narcissa Malfoy who smiled slightly in triumph.

"You are very welcome dear." She said warmly. Harry set the last of his gifts to the side hardly daring to think of how much they must have cost or that they were his to begin with. Eventually Snape cleared his throat and absently handed him another gift which Harry stared down at in complete confusion.

"Sir?" He asked looking at the parcel. Snape looked away.

"Well I couldn't let _them _outdo me could I?" He asked lifting his chin. Harry's eyes widened.

"You got me-"

"Open it Potter, there's no use arguing." Lucius said dryly though his eyes were amused and it was obvious that the gears in his mind were turning as he looked at Snape who was decidedly uncomfortable. Harry ducked his head and carefully opened the gift.

"Books Severus?" Narcissa said smirking. Severus nodded looking anywhere but at

Harry. Harry knew though, he understood that each one of the books he pulled out of the endless wrapping paper would teach him everything he needed to know about the wizarding world. From politics to etiquette, everything Harry would need in order to grow socially in the wizarding world was there in his hands. What Snape wasn't telling, that Harry could read without needing books to understand was that Snape was giving him a way out- He no longer _needed _Snape to teach him to make bargains with him, not when he had everything he needed in his hands. But he knew that no matter what knowledge he gleaned from these books, the knowledge Snape had to offer could in all probability be the most important knowledge he could gain. Snape was a powerful and intelligent wizard, Harry could have known that simply by listening to the way the man talked or watching the way the man carried himself.

"Thank you sir." He said smiling widely nearly throwing the man off, but then when had he ever smiled? Carelessly the way that seemed to come to Draco so naturally. Twin spots of red settled across the man's cheek bones.

"You're very welcome Potter." He said quietly before returning to his tea.

The rest of the morning was like a dream to Harry who found himself becoming more and more at ease with the Malfoy family which apparently included Snape. Harry had found himself fascinated by the verbal spars they had with each other and discovered quite quickly that Narcissa was no dim housewife but rather a sharp witted witch with power to back her. She and Lucius Malfoy were a perfect fit for each other. Both had charm, charisma intelligence and grace. They were everything Harry could admire in a couple and he quickly found himself envying Draco. Of course Snape easily kept up with them but where Narcissa and Lucius were light - hearted and sharp Snape was eloquent and had a darker sense of humor that could cut just as easily as the Malfoy couple's subtle barbs.

However the one thing he noticed for certain was that for all their sharp words, they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. It was easy for Harry to understand after a while that the three had been good friends for many years. Of course Harry had watched all of this while watching Draco nearly bounce off the walls for two hours, and then later in slight exasperation when the blonde boy suddenly ran out of energy and crashed on the couch like a cat curled up and sleeping. Harry simply shook his head at this and pulled out a book enjoying the calm atmosphere as he observed the family silently. Lucius and Narcissa seemed completely non-pulsed by Draco's actions and Harry wondered if they were a normal occurrence at Malfoy manor.

"Ah, Mister Potter won't you have some brunch with us?" Narcissa said standing gracefully. Harry blinked up at her in shock having thought himself forgotten. Carefully he marked his place in his book.

"Yes mam' thank-you, you can call me Harry by the way." He said feeling suddenly shy around the woman. Her eyes flared briefly with warmth. Harry had learned by this point that allowing someone to use your given name was the equivalent of announcing that you would side with that person in a duel should you be requested, it was also however a way of saying that you truly respected that person. Just one morning with the Malfoy family had told him that he respected them. Of course there were more public ramifications of allowing a person to use your given name but the finer details were ones that Harry was nearly certain he wouldn't have a problem with. The Malfoys had shown him great kindness, the likes of which he'd never seen. Even Lucius Malfoy who Harry was certain had some ulterior motive had treated him with more decorum than he deserved probably as an extension of his friendship with Draco and the sort of agreement he had with Snape. He of course didn't expect the sentiment to be returned, Lucius and Narcissa were far above him in rank and social status so he would continue to call them by their family name or by their titles as Lord and Lady Malfoy.

"Of course Harry." She said before moving around him to wake Draco. Harry watched in fascination and yearning as she gently woke her son with soft words and motions. It hurt, he realized belatedly. It hurt to watch such a private moment. Quickly he looked away and stood settling his gifts carefully onto the couch as Draco groaned and mumbled behind him. Snape huffed quietly as he watched and Lucius rolled his eyes before leading them out of the room. Harry stuck close to Snape his eyes darting around curiously at all the portraits and lavish decorations that lined the hallways.

"Relax Potter they won't jump out at you." Snape said after a while. Harry frowned up at the man.

"So says you, I never know what to expect from this world. Ghosts, talking portraits, moving stairs..." He shook his head and Snape smirked.

"You'll get used to it." He said as they stepped into a brightly lit room surrounded by three walls of glittering glass panes that stretched up and curved into a stained glass mosaic. A large round table dominated the center of the room and Harry could only gape at the amount of food sitting on it.

"Now Harry, I didn't know what you would like so you can just grab whatever suits you."

Narcissa said as Lucius pulled out her seat for her and scooted her forward. Harry stared at her with wide eyes. It was only then that he noticed that three of the plates were already heavily laden with what he could assume were favored foods. He looked up in shock at Snape who simply smirked and unfolded his napkin settling it on his lap. All that food...for him? He gazed at it for a moment longer before carefully seating himself. He'd read about this of course. Just earlier in fact, it was a common custom in wealthy families for the matriarch to be able to predict the wants of the more personal friends of the family. If she did not know than an array like this one would be set out almost as an apology. Quietly Harry began requesting what he wanted from the piles of food. Years of living with the Dursleys had left him with little apatite after learning to survive on the scant amount of food they'd allowed him. He'd also developed a healthier appetite after watching Vernon eat as much greasy food as he had. Harry had come to prefer fruits to bacon and oatmeal to rashers, he was probably the only boy in Slytherin that ate plain dry toast and poached eggs instead of pancakes and fried eggs.

"The board has decided to allow Hogwarts to remain open." Lucius said catching Harry's attention. Silver eyes met his before darting away. Harry relaxed a bit. Ever since that day in the headmaster's office he'd been scared that they were going to close the school down.

"They agreed with mister Potter's reasoning about mudbloods not knowing better than to let a troll in though how she did it is beyond me." He said returning his gaze to his food.

Harry understood at once that the man had used his name to sway the governors which honestly he didn't mind all that much as long as it kept him from having to return to Petunia sooner than was necessary.

"The headmaster will be elated." Snape said dryly.

"Well at least the children will be able to return, after all the troll was dead, why would they close down the school if the threat was eliminated." Narcissa said easily. Harry found that he had to agree though a part of him doubted that the threat was truly gone, he shared a look with Snape who frowned in response.

"It just goes to show what happens when one goes looking for trouble." he said aloud a clear warning if Harry had ever heard one.

"Yeah." Draco giggled. "You get blown up!" He said causing Harry's apatite to fail him utterly. He closed his eyes as a flash of a memory slipped through him.

"Draco!" Narcissa chided bringing him out of the memory. It was a different sort of hunger that lingered now and there was no mistaking that Lucius had seen it this time. It was a hunger for blood, for the power it offered. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he should feel disgusted for it, but he remembered just how well things had been going since he'd killed Vernon, and the troll as well. After all he was here wasn't he? With some of the wizarding world's most influential people on Christmas, having the celebration he'd always dreamed of having. No, killing Vernon was the best thing that had ever happened to him and the more powerful he got the better things would get. He would be strong, unstoppable! He smiled slightly into his food content to sit back and enjoy himself. If the

Malfoy's were content to let him have a chance with them than he would do his best, and if Snape was willing to teach him, well then he would learn all he could wouldn't he?

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**Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Not much to say, sadly I haven't gotten much work done on the next Book, I have the chapters planned out in my head but I was kind of fried with this story so I didn't want to rush it or write something horrible just to get it out. The book its self is almost finished just to let you know and It _should_ be done by the time the last chapter is out for this book, I don't want to get your hopes up in case I end up busy again or unable to finish in time. I will let you know towards the end of this book if I need a few weeks between to finish up the second book, I shouldn't though! Anyway, enjoy! I am doing as best as I can to get these to you in a timely manner.  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 7_

_The Horrors of a Bored Malfoy_

_(a/n some of the lines from this chapter are taken directly from the Harry Potter and the_

_Sorcerers stone, I am not laying claim to them I am simply using them to keep the story as believable as possible.)_

Harry sighed as he ducked yet another flying projectile before turning the page of his book. Draco was bored. Everyone in Slytherin knew it. His Christmas gifts had only staved off his boredom for a few weeks whereas Harry would cherish his for as long as he could. Already his new clothing had garnered looks of envy and grudging respect.

Somehow the fact that he'd spent his Christmas with the Malfoy family had also gotten out thought Harry was nearly certain that Draco was responsible for that particular bit of news. It didn't bother him though because people were less likely to look down on him and after the troll incident whatever doubts they might have had about him being placed in Slytherin had diminished. However, the point was, Draco was bored and it was making it hell to study in the common room. Eventually Harry stood and slipped out of the room, he may secretly respect Draco's parents, but Draco himself was a royal prat. So Harry slipped through the quiet corridors and down what was becoming a rather familiar path to the room with the Mirror. The room was always quiet and empty which allowed him to study without being bothered for great lengths of time, it had become sort of a refuge for Harry who wasn't as dull as Draco's stooges who hadn't thought to simply leave the area whenever Draco got like this. For a moment he stood in front of the Mirror gazing at the older more powerful him.

"So Harry- back again?" Harry spun in shock cursing himself for not having searched the room first. There sitting on an unused desk was the headmaster. Harry frowned slightly at the man realizing for the first time that the man was taking liberties by using his name.

"Headmaster?" He said cautiously. The man gazed down at him for a moment.

"So- like hundreds before you, you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

Harry knew his eyes were glinting at the solved mystery. The Mirror of Erised, he could look that up now and stop searching through the piles and piles of books- not that he hadn't enjoyed the experience. The man chuckled at the look on his face.

"May I ask what exactly it does?" Harry said as politely as he could manage. The man may have been the one to bring him to the wizarding world but he wasn't fool enough to simply trust the man. The headmaster tilted his head back and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"I believe you may have already figured that out." He said smiling slightly. Harry turned his gaze back to the mirror; back to the stronger better him.

"It shows the viewer what they want most." He said quietly. The headmaster nodded his head slowly.

"The happiest man on earth would use the mirror as a normal mirror, he would look into that mirror and see himself exactly as he is." He said leaning on his elbows. "May I ask what it is _you _see Harry?" He said gently. Harry flinched and felt himself closing off, no, this was personal, not to be shared with a doddering old man that took liberties with peoples names.

"I believe that would be a bit personal wouldn't it sir?" He said guardedly wondering if there was a way for the man to see what he was looking at. The headmaster frowned slightly but nodded.

"I suppose it would be, the mirror shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." He said gazing at the stack of books in Harry's arms, "Sometimes Harry, what we wish for the most is the one thing we can never have." Harry stiffened. What did this man know about what he wanted most?

This man who took liberties with his name again and again!

"May I ask sir what it is you think I see?" He said narrowing his gaze slightly. The headmaster looked taken aback by this but answered.

"You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you." He said softly.

Harry hardened entirely and gazed back at the mirror. Perhaps that was once true in the beginning of the year, but he'd lain his family to rest. Now, now he saw what was real, what was possible. "The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared.

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." Dumbledore said obviously satisfied with Harry's silence.

"Sir?" Harry said tracing the image with his fingers once more before letting his hand drop.

"Yes Harry?" The headmaster said looking far too smug for Harry's tastes.

"I've read about the customs involving the use of names, I would appreciate it if you would call my by my familial name." He said before stepping away from the mirror and settling his books onto one of the empty desks. The headmaster seemed stunned his eyes widened slightly as he stared at him before slowly relaxing his face twisted slightly in a grimace.

"I see." he said carefully. "I did not mean to offend you, it is a simple habit." He said with a tilt of his head. Harry rose an eyebrow at this.

"You habitually call your students by their given name?" He said knowing he'd caught the man off guard. The headmaster's face fell slightly.

"No, only the ones who I've once held in my arms as infants." he said almost warningly.

Harry was slightly shocked but didn't admit it.

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live sir, my mother and father are dead, my family broken. All I have left of it is a name, a name I would appreciate you using."

He said settling in his usual seat. The headmaster gazed at him for a long moment before nodding sadly.

"I suppose you are right Mister Potter, good day." He said before turning away and slipping out the door. Harry watched the empty doorway for a long moment. Albus

Dumbledore was most certainly a powerful wizard after all he'd read much about the man, but he made Harry uncomfortable. He always felt that he was missing some vital bit of information when he was around the man. Frowning he turned to his books and began studying.

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Harry winced slightly as he climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitory his body aching from working in the potions stores as was his custom he slowly dragged himself into the showers not wanting to go to sleep reeking of potions ingredients. He groaned tiredly as he showered and sighed when the muscle relaxant in his soap made the lingering pain go away leaving him nearly boneless with exhaustion as he quickly washed his hair and turned off the shower. Quietly he crept back into the dorm frowning at the sight of three very empty beds- grand.

Scowling he lifted his watch and looked at the time. Two-thirty not bad really but he was still exhausted. He sighed heavily and reached into his trunk for a pepper-up potion knowing full well that the Malfoy's and Snape would have his head if he let anything happen to their foolish son. He should have known really, Dudley was the same way whenever he got bored; it was always bad news for him because he would always get the blame. He hissed as the sudden burst of energy made its way through his system. Quietly he pulled out his invisibility cloak and slipped it over his shoulders before slipping back out into the corridors cursing Draco for all his madness. It was only by sheer luck that he glanced out a frosted window and caught sight of three boys making their way towards the grounds keeper's hut. Harry frowned, was Draco that bored?

Huffing he took off making his way down the hallways as silently as possible until he could creep outside and follow. Draco, Crabb and Goyle were crouched under the window pressing their faces against the glass to see inside. Harry who was invisible peered in as well to see just what it was that was so interesting. Three Gryffindor boys-

Weasley, Longbottom and another whose name Harry couldn't recall were sitting around a table with the half giant staring in rapt attention at something- an egg? He leaned closer

just as the egg warbled and cracked.

"A dragons egg!" Draco hissed in awe. Harry had the urge to smack him upside the head but the egg cracked further and shattered loudly catching his attention. Suddenly big beady eyes were looking strait into his, without a thought he pushed Draco's head down just as the others in the room turned around to look at them. Crabb and Goyle let out twin gasps before struggling to stand and Harry realized quickly that they'd been caught.

Growling he yanked Draco under the cloak with him and covered his mouth. For a moment Draco struggled but quickly realized that it was Harry and settled down as Filch came hollering from the castle Snape not far behind.

"What is the meaning of this!" Snape said storming towards where the three Gryffindors were surrounding Crabb and Goyle with their wands out. Harry startled as something warm pressed against the back of his leg and stared open mouthed at the wobbling

Dragon that was- was _nuzzling _him? Gritting his teeth he cast a silencing spell around them and scooped up the dragon which curled into him with a small warbling sound of content before falling fast asleep. Harry stared at the beast in abstract horror before turning his gaze back to the drama that was unfolding ahead of him.

"We were just-" Crabb tried dumbly.

"Um we didn't do-" Goyle followed his hands raised in the air in a gesture of surrender.

Harry saw Snape's eyes narrow and knew immediately what the man was thinking, Crabb and Goyle were far too stupid to make it past the front doors on their own let alone think to follow the Gryffindors. Dark eyes swept the area and Harry held his breath just knowing that the man was looking for Draco. With a frown Snape returned his gaze to the students.

"Follow me." He snapped. "Filch if you would be so kind as to get Minerva?" He said before stalking off the five dejected students following after him. Harry sighed in relief before glaring at Draco who was staring at the small bundle of dragon in his arms.

"Norbert?" Hagrid whispered too loudly from his back door where Harry assumed the dragon had slipped out from. But really, Norbert? He looked down at the scaly creature in his arms and felt the power growing inside of the beast. But what would one name a Dragon? He felt a steady connection between them as the dragon slowly opened its orange eyes. Fire it would have to do with fire, he reached down and thoughtfully pet the blackened scales.

"Ash." he whispered softly causing the dragon to trill softly and let out a puff of smoke.

Harry's eyes watered against the smell and Draco jumped away from them slightly suddenly aware that he was only feet away from a baby dragon. Harry rolled his eyes and bent over to set the dragon on the floor only to frown when it stubbornly clung to him.

"Norbert s' that you?" Hagrid said his steps growing louder. Harry cursed silently and pulled Draco back under his cloak. He had a bit of a decision to make didn't he? The dragon wouldn't let go and he couldn't let Draco get in trouble. He sighed and tugged

Draco towards the castle draping his robes over the shivering baby dragon to protect it from the cold and when that didn't work casting a heating charm on it and pulling it as close to his body as he could.

"Draco I aught to just let you get caught for this." he hissed. Draco winced slightly at the scolding.

"Thanks for not letting me then." He said looking up at Harry apologetically. Harry was reminded that Draco was in many ways still a child and a burst of envy shot through him again. He glanced down at the shivering dragon and sighed resolutely.

"You owe me for this Draco." he muttered. "Take the cloak and go back to the dorms make sure you put it in my trunk." He said annoyed. Draco's eyes grew wide.

"What are you going to do?" He asked frightened. Harry growled slightly.

"Just this once, out of respect and gratitude for what your father did to me during the troll incident I'm going to take the blame. Try not to put me in this position again Draco?" He pleaded. Draco nodded before taking the cloak and slipping off. Harry huffed slightly and glared at nothing in particular before slipping his outer robes off entirely and covering the dragon tightly casting another heating charm on the blanket to keep the dragon warm.

Silently he made his way down the stairs and towards Snape's office where he could already hear the man yelling. The Dragon growled slightly at the sound and Harry had to smile feeling a bit soft towards the poor creature who really hadn't done a thing to end up in this mess. Taking a deep breath he pushed open the door twisting his expression into one of panic causing all the occupants in the room to turn around and stare at him. Harry glanced around in mock sock at the five students and two heads of house before focusing on Snape.

"Potter-" Snape said sharply only to take a step back when the bundle in Harry's arms growled at the tone used towards him. Harry glanced down at the dragon and quickly moved close to the fire place setting the dragon down on the hot heart stones causing it to sigh gratefully. When Harry looked up all eyes were on him.

"Don't ask me!" he said defensively. "I was on my way back from the store rooms and he just kind of stumbled into me" He said raising his hands in defeat. "He wouldn't let me go so I tried to find Snape but he wasn't here, I looked all over the castle for him before one of the portraits told me he'd come back down here." He said shaking his head. Snape's dropped jaw clicked shut.

"Potter, are you aware-" McGonagall began only to shake her head in shock.

"Potter, that creature is a Dragon." Snape said as if he were daft. The dragon growled slightly at him before moving to bump it's nose against Harry's hand which had begun stroking it absently. Harry scowled slightly.

"Well yes Professor I sort of figured when it blew smoke at me, that's why I brought him here I figured you would know what to do with him." he said sounding exasperated.

Snape shook his head slowly.

"Minerva would you mind getting the headmaster, I need to fire call Lucius the Board of

Governors will need to hear about this - oh and take the students with you." He said tiredly. The pale woman nodded her head slowly before quietly ushering the students out of the room. "I'll need to get to the fireplace Potter." Snape said rubbing his eyes. Harry huffed and gathered the now warm dragon back into his arms with little protest. The dragon warbled quietly and nuzzled further into Harry's chest letting out small chirping sounds that nearly had Harry forgetting that it was a dangerous creature in his arms. The floo flared to life a moment later and Lucius Malfoy stepped through looking as immaculate as if it weren't four in the morning. Silver eyes gazed at him for a moment before turning to Severus.

"Trolls and now a Dragon Severus?" he said tilting his head to the side. Snape shrugged.

"He says the creature just barreled into him in the hallway and wouldn't let go." He said with a shrug. Lucius stared at Harry for a moment longer and hummed thoughtfully.

"Well if it's possible I'll need you to procure a bucket of chicken blood and brandy- good brandy. Actually just bring a chicken and some brandy, its better if Potter is the one to draw the blood. If this is what I think it is then the dragon won't eat anything that Potter doesn't kill for it." He said shaking his head. Severus nodded and slipped quietly out of the room seeming glad to get away from them. Lucius Malfoy spun on his heel then and quirked and eyebrow at Harry. Harry sighed knowing that the man would see right through his flimsy story.

"Draco was bored, when I found his bed empty I went to look for him and found him down by Hagrid's hut. When the dragon hatched it looked at me. When the others realized that Crabb and Goyle were at the window I managed to pull Draco under my cloak. I was going to lie low and wait until Snape and the others cleared out but the dragon must have gotten out of the hut and wouldn't let go of me. When they left I sent Draco back to the dorms with my cloak and brought the Dragon down here." Harry said quickly. Malfoy stared at him for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"I see, I must thank you on my sons behalf then." He said smirking. Harry shook his head and pet the dragon idly. "I suppose you have named it?" Lucius said bending down to get a closer look. Harry tilted his head to the side and Lucius chuckled. "The Malfoy family owns nearly all of the Dragon clutches that are in existence today Potter we are famous for it. It is a personal hobby of mine in fact." he said gazing at the dragon. "This one in particular is a Norwegian Ridgeback." he added. Harry frowned a bit and the Dragon shifted a bit opening it's eyes and shrinking back at the sight of Lucius so close. Harry hushed it and pet it gently causing it to purr and move closer to him.

"I named him Ash." Harry said stroking the smooth scales frowning at how cool the

Dragon was getting again.

"Here." Lucius whispered before casting a charm on the blankets. Harry and Ash tensed but relaxed as heat radiated from the blankets. "Normal heating charms aren't strong enough to keep a dragon warm and while fire is always the best choice it is not always the wisest given its destructive nature." Malfoy explained before standing as Snape and the headmaster entered the room, Snape carrying a squawking chicken by the neck. the

Dragon's eyes lit up at the sight of the chicken and started to get restless.

"Well I'll be!" The headmaster said his eyebrows raising into his hairline. The dragon shrank back at the sight of the headmaster and burrowed closer to Harry who felt a protective anger rush through him.

"It would be best if you stepped back headmaster." Lucius said wisely. "That dragon has imprinted on mister Potter only recently, until the bond is settled and the dragon is stronger both will feel uneasy around you." He said coolly as Snape handed Harry the chicken with a grimace before moving towards his back room and returning with a bottle of what Harry could only assume was brandy.

"Why would they feel threatened by me?" The headmaster said with a deep frown.

Malfoy sneered visibly.

"Because _you _headmaster smell like Dragons blood." He said his eyes flashing a bit.

Harry watched the exchange avidly as he poured the brandy into the bucket. Yes he _had _read somewhere that the headmaster was the one to discover twelve uses for dragonsblood, it was one of his most famous achievements. Harry set the bottle to the side andtook the chicken from Snape's hand grabbing it by the feet.

"Harry you don't have to-" But Harry had already whispered a severing charm and was watching the blood drip down mixing with the brandy as the chicken twitched feebly. Ash growled hungrily beside him and Harry chuckled slightly at the begging noise it made.

"Dragons will only eat from their mothers, in this case Potter because Potter is the one the

Dragon imprinted on." Malfoy said idly his silver eyes watching him as he coaxed the blood out faster. "Unfortunately at this point we will be unable to move the Dragon until it is older or we run the risk of killing it. I suggest that you find a place here at Hogwarts to house the Dragon, he will be relatively harmless as long as Potter is around you see."

He said easily. "Of course the proper paperwork will have to be put through and I will have my men come to ensure that the Dragon's home is suitable and well out of the way of wandering students." Harry looked up as the last of the chicken's blood dribbled out.

"You mean that he can stay?" He asked wide-eyed. The headmaster frowned.

"Keeping a dragon is illegal Mister Malfoy you created that law yourself!" The headmaster said seeming angry. Malfoy gazed at him coolly.

"Correct headmaster but Potter here isn't _keeping _the Dragon, they share a bond now a bond similar to that of a mother and child. I created that law to keep men like yourself from raising Dragons for experimentation!" he snapped. "Dragons are far more powerful than you give them credit for they are not cattle for slaughtering nor are they rats for experimentation." He said slamming his cane against the stones. Ash growled slightly and Harry pet him before guiding it towards the bucket where he carefully lapped at the mixture before diving in hungrily. The headmaster glanced at Harry who moved protectively in front of Ash not knowing why really but knowing that the man just might hurt the creature which he was becoming increasingly fond of.

"Very well, but what about mister Potter's lessons?" the headmaster said lifting his chin.

Malfoy smiled slightly.

"I'll take care of that headmaster, like it or not Potter now belongs to the dragon community which places him under my jurisdiction." Harry's eyes widened and the headmasters gaze narrowed.

"And while he is a minor _I _am his legal guardian." he said stiffly. Harry froze staring in shock at the man. He didn't know much about politics but he did know enough to know that something was wrong.

"If you are my guardian." he said quietly his eyes betraying his fear. "Then why was I living with the Dursley's?" He asked almost terrified to know the answer. A slow frown stretched across Lucius' lips and Snape narrowed his gaze.

"Good question." Snape said under his breath. "Why _did _you leave him there? And why didn't you check on him?" Snape said suspicion creeping into his voice.

"There are blood protection wards up around the Dursley home that mister Potter would not have had staying with me." The headmaster said easily. Harry felt a shock of understanding rush through him. Beside him Ash mewled and pressed his blood covered snout to his palm.

"Whatever the circumstances are headmaster, the moment that dragon imprinted on Potter _I _gained custody of both of them until the Dragon is old enough to be transported to a dragon reservation." Lucius said smoothly though his curiosity was obvious in his eyes.

Harry watched the headmaster press his lips together before nodding slowly.

"Very well, I will make the living arrangements." he said in defeat before glancing once more at Harry and slipping out of the room. Harry sighed as Ash wriggled his way back into the charmed blankets on Harry's lap to sleep. Carefully Harry lifted the bundle and sat in a chair settling the dragon comfortably against him.

"So, what happens next?" Harry said tilting his head to the side.

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**Let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A few notes before we begin, I hope I have warned you sufficiently enough already but in case I haven't I will warn you again, the next book is rated M for a reason. I know some of you are going 'but he's only twelve!' So I'll explain, in the next book there is sexual abuse, I tried to gloss over it as much as possible and the description is as vague as I think I _could _make it without losing the horror of it.**

**As for an update on the second book I am (cheers!) on the last chapter and should probably have it sent to my beta within the next few days, however I will still gave a weeks grace period between this book and the next once I upload the last chapter for this book. The reason being that as each book progresses it readily gets longer and therefor I need more time to write it, the fact that I have managed to nearly complete the second book is nothing short of miraculous.**

**Hope you enjoy!  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 8_

_In the Forbidden Forest_

Harry smiled widely as he stared up at the sky. It turned out that there wasn't really much to do in raising a dragon, for the most part Ash ate, slept and entertained while Harry stayed close by reading his books. It was rather relaxing really. They had their own part of the forest that had been closed off for their use and the small cabin (which had been fireproofed quite extensively) suited Harry's needs just fine. During the day Harry was tutored privately by a man that worked exclusively for the Malfoy family. The man hadn't blinked twice at the sight of Ash who was growing steadily by the day and requiring larger animals to slake its hunger. Professor Gladys as he preferred to be called was just as enthusiastic about teaching as Harry was about learning and often times went far beyond the topic at hand. Harry was quickly realizing that he would be far ahead of the other students by the time Ash was old enough to move to his new home.

Rawwaaaah!

Panic jumped through Harry at Ash's distressed sound and suddenly he was on his feet running through the trees with ease. He gasped as something shadowed flashed through the air before him and paused turning around defensively his wand out until Ash let out another sound and he was running forwards again catching sight of Ash through a break in the trees. Quickly he rushed to the dragon's side first looking for injury on the frightened creature which pushed his head into Harry insistently. Harry looked around soothing the dragon as best as he could wondering what had terrified the usually fearless dragon. Ash, who was now tall enough to reach his hip warbled pitifully and Harry growled slightly in frustration before carefully leading the dragon back to the small clearing gasping at the sight laid before them. A unicorn whinnied weakly fallen on it's side as blood dripped from it's neck. Harry cursed softly and moved towards the creature partially in awe and partially worried for its sake.

"Hey now." He tried gently holding his hands up when the creature kicked at him. "I don't want to hurt you- that's it there we go." he whispered before settling his hand over the wound. He wasn't entirely proficient in healing charms yet but he'd been healing himself for years through wandless magic. Slowly he pushed his magic towards the wound and watched the tissue begin to knit together leaving behind a trail of silvery blood. The unicorn tossed its head for a moment before craning it's neck to see the spot where the wound had been.

"There you go." Harry said wiping the blood away while the unicorn watched. Ash curiously poked his head out and cocked it to the side seeming to communicate with the unicorn for a moment before huffing and moving closer. The Unicorn whinnied and tossed its head a bit before slowly trying to stand only to fall back down tiredly. Harry jumped in surprise when Ash suddenly flitted away into the trees only to return a moment later with several leafy flowers in his mouth which he settled in front of the unicorn. The unicorn snuffed at them a bit before hesitantly taking a bite chewing thoughtfully for a moment before slowly eating the rest. Harry sighed and summoned a bucket dipping it into the small stream that ran into the lake and catching some water before returning and settling it in front of the unicorn which drank greedily before settling down its head and simply resting. Harry could hardly believe his luck as he watched the unicorn sleep, of course he'd read about unicorns but he'd never dreamed that he would actually see one.

And what was it that had dared attack it? What creature could have frightened Ash and hurt the unicorn? Honestly there was no doubt in his mind that they were one and the same. Sighing he summoned his book and settled down letting ash settle his head against his thigh so that he could take a nap.

It was nearly two hours later that the unicorn finally stirred blinking up at him with dark knowing eyes that Harry almost found unsettling. The unicorn stood slowly testing its legs and neighed gently when it found its strength had returned to it before pattering towards where Harry was sitting. Harry swallowed suddenly very aware of how sharp it's horn was as the pointed bone came closer to him. He closed his eyes when a sudden bright light flashed from it and a thrill of magic raced through him before all at once it was gone. He cracked his eyes open slowly and blinked at how blurry everything was before pulling his glasses off intent to wipe them clean only to gasp as everything became sharper, clearer. Something thick sat in the back of his throat as he looked around and for the first time in his life saw everything clearly. He stared wide-eyed at the world around him until at last his gaze landed on the unicorn which was walking away.

"Thank you." He said breathlessly. The unicorn glanced back at him and tossed its head in a merry way before galloping away.

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The next few weeks were nothing short of bliss for Harry, he was free here in the forest, there was no one around except Ash, his tutor and occasionally Snape and Malfoy. For the first time in his life Harry was positively thrumming with happiness as he spent hours upon long happy hours buried in his studies or simply watching Ash grow and play. However, he was very aware of just how much Ash was growing. He had no doubt that very soon Lucius would be coming to take him away and Harry would have to return to Hogwarts in fact it could be any day now, after all Ash had begun to hunt for himself now and for Harry who had found the decapitated rabbit on his doorstep only slightly revolting. He still ate it though, after all food was food and there was no chance that he would turn that down even if the house elves were a bit squeamish at the sight of it. Harry sighed, he was going to miss this place but he knew it wasn't for him, he was destined for greater things and soon he would have to leave his blissful independence behind.

As if summoned by his thoughts the floo flared to life and out stepped Lucius Malfoy looking as immaculate as ever. Ash who had grown to tolerate the man sniffed at him before laying his head back down and going back to sleep- of course Ash now took up half the cabin so it was a rather impressive sight. Lucius Malfoy rose an eyebrow at the lack of fire.

"Potter, have you _house _trained him?" He said in shock. Harry frowned and Ash growled.

"No, but if he did breath fire he'd run the risk of hurting me." He said closing his text book. Lucius nodded and Harry frowned when the floo flared to life again and instead of Snape coming through as he had expected another man tall sandy haired and rugged stepped through. Ash lifted his head and growled warningly as Harry backed away from the stranger sending Malfoy a questioning glance.

"Ah, forgive me, this is Trevor Racy- he's one of the tamers in the reserve, he's come to check up on Ash and make sure he's healthy." He said as an explanation. Harry's heart fell but he nodded slowly and clicked his tongue at Ash in a way that they had come to mean that the stranger was safe. Ash grumbled but settled down as the man looked at him his brown eyes glittering.

"He is beautiful isn't he?" He said cocking his head to the side. Harry didn't really like the way the man was looking at Ash but didn't comment choosing instead to stand.

"Would you like something to drink?" He offered politely.

"No thank you Potter, we really do need to get this out of the way and as I'm certain you are aware we should probably go outside to do so. Harry nodded slowly before looking at

Ash and communicating silently causing the Dragon to stand and stretch before nosing his way out of the doorway (which was now double doors to accommodate his size).

Harry followed after him at a leisurely pace. The dragon tamer let out a low whistle as

Ash spread out his wings and stood on his hind legs, Harry smirked slightly. This was

Ash's way of showing off and warning away any guest that might think to hurt them.

"He can fly then?" The man said thoughtfully. Harry smiled thinly as Ash knelt closer to the ground preferring to have Harry up in the air with him when strangers were there.

Harry climbed on and settled himself flat against the hard scales.

"Show them what you've got Ash." He said softly. Seconds later they were soaring through the air at impressive speeds ducking and diving expertly. Harry's heart jumped and thudded in his chest as a feeling of utter freedom filled him. Ash though seemed to understand that they were only up for a short ride and carefully began to glide back down landing gently into the soft earth. Harry sighed quietly as he slid back down to the ground patting the scales around Ash's neck the way he knew the dragon enjoyed.

"Well that answers that question!" The dragon tamer said cheerfully his eyes alight. Harry smiled slightly feeling the weight on his chest lighten a bit. "How much does he eat now?" He said gazing expertly at Ash who preened silently. Harry hid his smirk.

"I'm not really sure any more, he hunts for himself now." He said knowing that this was it, Ash would be leaving him soon. The thought left an ache in his chest that Ash seemed to understand because immediately he was reaching down nuzzling him in comfort. This was what he would miss most he decided. He and Ash had developed a closeness that allowed them to speak without words, it was something he'd never before experienced in another person. Trevor seemed to understand and nodded slowly his eyes softening a bit.

"Well you've done an incredible job raising him Mister Potter." he said after a moment.

Harry nodded slowly in thanks.

"He's going to go soon though isn't he?" He said feeling suddenly fragile. Ash was the closest thing to family he'd ever known.

"I'm afraid so, though you'll always be a big part of his life. We will need to arrange frequent visits especially during the first five years of your separation. In the first year we recommend visits at least twice a month to keep the dragon from trying to escape." Harry nodded slowly. It was better than nothing but still...He sighed heavily.

"How long until you take him?" He asked as Ash settled down. Trevor cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.

"Well, all we have to do really is get him there but he wont go unless you are with him and we'll need a few riders to come along mainly to guide you two. And then once you are there it will be a few days before he settles in and another few days before you can safely leave him. You have a good two weeks before you have to separate from him mister Potter but don't worry, we all go through it. He's old enough to look out for himself and soon he'll want a mate to look out for too." he said with a fond smile. Something warmed inside Harry at the thought of Ash making a family for himself and Harry nodded feeling much better about the whole ordeal.

"Very good then, if that is all then we'd best be leaving Trevor." Malfoy said with a tilt of his head. Trevor nodded slightly in response and Harry walked the man to the floo. It was hard to believe that he 'd become so close to Ash in such a short time, it was even harder to believe that all too soon Ash would be discovering a new home. Harry sighed and shook his head at the depressing thoughts before settling down and returning to his studies.

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Harry shivered as the air whipped around him. The forest was dark and eerie the only light around a small sliver of the moon. Harry gasped as something white rushed forwards glancing back at him- the unicorn! He hissed as the black shadow rushed forward with an intent to kill. Suddenly he was awake panting heavily as the wind whistled around their cabin. He glanced at Ash who was watching him knowingly and rushed towards the door flinging it open ignoring the stinging pain in his bare feet as he raced across the forest paths in a blind panic. He needed to get to the unicorn, needed to find her- suddenly Ash was snatching him up and tossing him onto his back before swooping down low over the forest. In the distance Harry could hear a panicked neigh and Ash dodged down cutting through the branches powerfully. Harry let out a growl at the sight of the shadow leaning over the unicorn and the shadow turned it's head causing and overwhelming pain to pulse behind his scar sending him to his knees. The shadow cackled loudly and dove forwards placing his mouth over the wound and drinking the blood with sickening slurping sounds.

Harry groaned in agony and struggled to stand holding his hand out.

"Reducto." He hissed but was too weak to send anything strong enough. The shadow dodged the blast with a hiss and Harry teetered dizzily as something sticky began to slip down his face. The shadow rushed towards him and Ash roared before suddenly everything went black and Harry was falling numbly to the ground. He blinked slowly unable to comprehend what was happening for a moment as he stared blankly at the unicorn. He knew though without a doubt, that there would be no saving her this time.

Slowly the pounding in his head receded but when he lifted it he had to turn to the side to vomit as nausea rolled through him. Still he stumbled forwards crawling towards the fallen form. The Unicorn let out a pitiful sound and Harry understood it to mean that she too knew that this was the end. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks though, not when such a beautiful being lay dieing in front of him. Weakly the unicorn tilted its head towards him and pressed her horn against his forehead. Harry's eyes widened as a bright light filled the air and suddenly he knew no more.

When he woke again Ash was curled around him and the sun was just beginning to cut through the trees. He winced slightly as he tried to sit up, his whole body ached. Slowly his memory returned to him and he looked desperately to where the unicorn had been only to find the spot bare except for a wide patch of flowers unlike anything he'd ever seen before except- yes he did remember seeing them, in Snape's ingredient storeroom.

The man had been devastated to see the only two left turn to dust the moment they opened the jar. He grinned slightly.

"Stay here, I'll be right back!" Harry said before taking off running. In the day time he could easily find his way through the forest after having traveled through it so many times with a curious Ash. In less than twenty minuets he was back at the cabin ducking his head into the fireplace.

"What on earth- Potter?" Harry smirked at the man's befuddled expression and nearly sniggered at the sight of the long old fashioned night shirt. Quickly he told the man his story and before he could finish found himself nearly shoved out of the fireplace as the man came through. By the time they made it back to the spot Ash was glaring at Harry in a disapproving way and Harry noted again that his feet were bare. Wincing he sat down and healed the wounds frowning when his magic pulsed brightly, it felt different somehow...he shook his head and transfigured a few leaves into a pair of shoes slipping them on.

Snape was gazing at the flowers in awe his expression more gentle than anything Harry had ever seen as he carefully, reverently clipped the flowers and let them fall into a new jar that would keep them fresh unlike the jar the others had been stored in. "Potter this is simply..." he trailed off and Harry grinned at Ash who huffed and settled his head back down.

"What are they exactly?" Harry asked quietly.

"These particular flowers are called Virgo Lucis, translated it means virgin light, they are incredibly rare and incredibly expensive but well worth the expense. They can be used in a variety of potions that can heal a person on the brink of death or as some rumors whisper, bring back the dead. Though those rumors are baseless." He said his eyes glittering. "But aside from healing they are also known to increase magical power and to extend a persons life." He said screwing on the lid of the last jar. Carefully the man settled the jars into a worn leather bag and handed it to Harry with a slight smirk. "There is a fortune in that bag Potter, and seeing as you were the one to see the unicorn in it's last moments by magical law it belongs to you." Harry blinked up at the man and then back down at the bag.

"But sir-" he said shaking his head. Snape snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Of course I being a potions master would know people who might be interested in buying them from you." He said pointedly. Harry smiled feeling like he was back in familiar territory.

"At what price professor?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

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Harry sighed as he glanced around the empty cabin one last time, Ash was waiting for him outside excited to meet new dragons as they began to fly in but Harry felt that he at least had to say good-bye to the small cabin. It had been nice living here in the forest and while he was eager to return to Hogwarts in time for exams he wasn't eager to say good bye to the first bit of peace he'd found here. Quietly though he smiled and closed the doors to the cabin knowing that while this part of his life was over there were parts that he had yet to see, better parts. He gasped slightly when yet another dragon swooped in this one much to Harry's utter surprise carrying Lucius Malfoy in it's back. Harry stared open mouthed at the impressive blue dragon as it settled and let Malfoy off with a graceful slide. Malfoy's eyes were positively _alive _as he pat the dragon's neck. Ash nudged his hand and Harry snorted at the jealousy he could see clearly in his eyes.

Petting him reassuringly Harry glanced at Malfoy who nodded in understanding.

"Her name is Iris." Malfoy said petting the dragon fondly. "My father took me to a clutch when I was seventeen and she imprinted on me." Malfoy added. Harry nodded and gazed at the impressive dragon for a moment longer before slipping onto Ash's back.

"Ready?" He asked looking at the others. Malfoy nodded and jumped back up onto his dragon.

"Off we go then!" he said patting Iris who took off with a woosh. Harry was startled at the man's suddenly unguarded expression and knew immediately that Malfoy understood the bond he and Ash shared. No wonder the man was so firm in his beliefs about dragons!

Ash, not to be out done took off next flying in several risky loops just to show off making

Harry laugh aloud as the others followed. If riding Ash wasn't exhilarating enough riding

Ash surrounded by other dragons was pure bliss. It was as if there was nothing but them in the air, nothing but the wind and the sky and the bond they shared as they soared freely.

Harry let out a breathless laugh as Ash tried to race one of the other dragons and felt his magic slip through him connecting to Ash's magic in a deeply personal way. Ever since the unicorn had died Harry's magic had been acting strangely, he found it connecting to things at an intimate level at odd times- to trees that seemed to want to share their wisdom with him or the water that simply wanted to play. Sometimes even rocks or animals would find themselves caught up in it, but Ash especially seemed attuned to it.

His magic was different from a wizards and Harry had known the moment he'd held Ash in his arms all those weeks ago that his magic was powerful. And it was, as he grew his magic grew and as their bond grew so did their deeper magical connections. Harry knew without a doubt that were he ever to need Ash no matter how far apart they were the dragon would come to him.

For a long while after the initial thrill of flying had worn off they simply soared through the air enjoying the smooth glide. Harry smiled sleepily as their magic thrummed together as one and leaned close to Ash dreading the moment they would have to part. He could see through the clouds where Malfoy was leaning into Iris his hair streaming behind him, Harry was startled to discover that he found the sight beautiful to behold. He had never seen such an unguarded expression on the man's face as if he was entirely safe and content being where he was. Ash snorted up at him slightly and he smiled sending waves of comfort towards his jealous friend.

Harry slid his fingers through his own hair thoughtfully and was surprised at how long it had gotten just in that year; it was almost to his shoulders now. Of course he had planned on letting it grow out, it was a sign of noble birth and despite his mother being a muggle his father had been head of the Potter family, a family older than the Malfoys. In order to honor his position as heir he would grow his hair out. Draco didn't have to because his father was still alive but it would be expected for him to grow it out after his seventeenth birthday. Harry however had no father and would inherit his position as head of the Potter family on his fifteenth birthday instead of his seventeenth. He almost couldn't wait, in just one year he had learned so much about the wizarding world, he'd learned how it began, he'd learned about the cruelty the muggles had dealt them with time and time again. He had learned about all sorts of mirrors and potions ingredients and ways to gain power. He had learned so much, and yet it was only just the beginning. There was an entire library worth of knowledge at Hogwarts and even more than that in his professors. He felt as if he was on the edge of a cliff ready to dive in not knowing where he would land. But he knew one thing for certain; he would be powerful, unstoppable, _safe_.

It was several hours before the dragons guiding them began to drop altitude and turn, Ash followed gracefully and Harry nearly felt dizzy as the ground grew closer and closer. His ears began to ring as they slowed and belatedly he realized that the ground was actually the top of a mountain. Even with his repaired vision he could hardly see the other dragons that weren't a part of their group, they were still so far away and Harry had to wonder just how high they had gone. Slowly though they swooped closer and Harry was amazed at the many dragons he could see soaring about some playfully, some in challenge. It was like a dragon's paradise here and somehow he felt that he too was coming home. Ash dived slightly as they got closer causing Harry to laugh at his excitement which he could feel flowing between them. Yes, Ash would find home here Harry decided smiling at the agreement he received through the link. He hadn't known just what he was expecting the reserve to be like but it was nothing like this, these dragons were free and happy, well fed and treated with care. Ash would be happier here than in their small nook at Hogwarts.

Slowly, gently they landed on a large flat area that had obviously been carved out of the mountain for landing purposes. Harry swayed as he slid off feeling the earth move beneath him and Ash silently laughed at him before catching him. Harry laughed though at the giddy feeling he could sense coming from his friend and knew that Ash was simply dieing to go.

"Alright, alright, go have your fun I can sit here for a few minuets." He said sliding to the ground in a graceful heap. Ash huffed warm air into his face before taking off like a curious child.

"Here Potter drink this it will help." Malfoy said leaning heavily on his own cane. Harry took the vial and gazed at it warily. "For Merlin's sake, you really are developing some of

Severus' quirks! Just drink it Potter, it will stabilize you enough to walk again." Malfoy said shaking his head slightly. Harry blushed slightly as he caught sight of the man's hair and remembered thinking that the man was beautiful. Quickly he turned his head to the side and tossed back the potion sighing when he did in fact begin to feel better. Malfoy snorted as Iris took flight leaving them behind in a gust of air.

"Ash will be happy here." Harry said after a moment. Malfoy hummed softly in response.

"Be careful though Potter, there are those who would do anything to get a bit of dragon for themselves." Malfoy said softly his lips twisting into a frown. Harry was reminded of the headmaster then.

"Did you ever find out how Hagrid got Ash's egg in the first place?" Harry asked curiously. Malfoy glanced at him before speaking.

"A trade apparently. He won the egg in a pub in a card game of all things, somehow I doubt that it was a coincidence. I have yet to discover it's purpose though, or just who it was that made the trade." Harry frowned suddenly his mind returned to the shadowed creature in the forest.

"While we were in the forest." Harry said after a mental debate. "There was something that was hunting unicorns, drinking their blood." He shuddered at the memory. "Hagrid is the keeper of the grounds at Hogwarts, could it be that he made a deal with that thing? To turn a blind eye to it?" Harry mused quietly. Malfoy was silent for a long time before speaking.

"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime.

The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." He said quietly. "I doubt that even the half-giant would be willing to turn a blind eye to such a thing, however," he paused frowning slightly. "that tells me that Hogwarts is not entirely safe." he finished his eyes distant. Harry nodded and looked away knowing that the man was probably thinking about his son.

"Whatever it was it's been there for a few weeks and nothing has happened yet. It's almost like it's, looking for something." He said reaching up absently to rub at his scar.

"It wasn't very powerful though, even with the unicorn's blood it was weak hardly surviving really." he said dropping his hand before smirking slightly. "Don't worry about Draco though, he hasn't gotten into any more trouble since Ash hatched other than a few squabbles with the lions. He's just bored that's all." he said looking up at the man. Malfoy was smirking slightly his eyes distant with thought.

"Just make certain he stays out of trouble Mister Potter and I'll see to it that you continue to receive the perks that come with being a Malfoy's friend." He said tracing his lips with the head of his cane thoughtfully. Harry snorted and nodded.

"Of course Lord Malfoy." he said in agreement. If this year was anything to go by he was sure to need the man's help in the future, especially since it seemed that he was the only one willing and able to stand against the Headmaster.

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**Let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**WOOOOOOOOOOT! I have successfully completed book 2!** ** I have already sent it to my beta and it has been returned to me! Better yet I have already completed chapters 1 & 2 of Book 3!** **So you can expect a smooth transition from book 1 to book 2** **though please don't forget that I still plan on allowing a week's grace period between the two (unless I get a ton of reviews- yeah I just bribed you all****). Also, I'm still trying to decide whether to simply _give_ you the last two chapters next week or to space them out since the last chapter is pretty short...Let me know what you think! **

**On a side note, I have not actually decided on a specific pairing as of yet, I keep feeling that Harry is too fractured to end up with one person- that is all I am saying for now because I'm still not certain where his romantic life will lead (I'm on book 3 you guys, he's thirteen! I don't plan on adding anything serious until he's at least seventeen-I think...)**

**As for the dragon...well what can I say I felt like Harry needed a friend, besides Ash will probably play an important part in books to come- not that I'm giving anything away...But I promise that I don't intend on going all Dragon lord on you!**

**Lets see...I think I've addressed everything, enjoy!**

**Hope you enjoy!  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 9_

_Draco's Insatiable Curiosity_

Harry's return to Hogwarts was really rather unremarkable, a simple floo to Snape's quarters where he was then drilled extensively on the books he was meant to be memorizing. If Harry weren't so sure that Snape was simply a very cruel task master he would probably assume that the man might have actually _missed _having him around. His satisfied smirk when Harry completed the rather long list (two large tomes worth) told him that the man was making sure that he hadn't slacked off during his stint in the forest.

Malfoy's raised eyebrows however, made it worth the hour and a half long recitation and the glint in his eyes made receiving the third of the large tomes a bit less bitter. The man was certain to take interest in him now, with the glowing report his tutor would have given him he was sure to get what he wanted. Knowledge, power, prestige these were things that Malfoy had at his finger tips and Harry would be a fool not to reach out and grasp what he could of the power the man offered. Harry offered his thanks to the man once more before returning to the Slytherin dorms.

"Harry!" Draco hollered from where he'd been slumped in one of the common room chairs. Crabb and Goyle's visible wince told him volumes about how unmanageable the blond had been in his absence. Draco was suddenly in front of him eyes glittering strangely. Harry narrowed his gaze.

"What is it?" he sighed knowing that the boy was up to something and it was probably better for him to know just what he was getting involved in. Draco grinned and dragged him over to the couch where papers and books were strewn about.

"Dumbledore's hidden something in the castle." Draco said his eyes wide. "We overheard the half-giant talking about it to Filch and Crabb managed to find out that the Weasel is trying to get it." He said pressing several pages worth of notes into his hands. Harry frowned and began reading them. They were surprisingly...detailed ...intelligent...He sighed slightly. It wasn't the first time Draco had caught him off guard like this. The boy was wicked smart when he wanted to be, with parents like Lucius and Narcissa he would have to be, but his spoiled attitude and childish nature threw even Harry off at times making him wonder if it was intentional. He frowned as his eyes scanned the notes.

"So let me get this straight." He said a slight thrill of fear slipping through him. "The headmaster has hidden the philosopher's stone here in Hogwarts after removing it from his vault in Gringotts?" He said vaguely remembering the man stopping at his own vault when they were at Gringotts. Now that he thought about it...someone had attempted to rob it that same night! He frowned as bits and pieces began to fall into place. The troll- a diversion? A guardian? The Mirror of Erised... the figure in the forest...

_"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared."_

His eyes dropped back down to the parchments widening as he realized that Dumbledore was giving him a clue, a hint- the man _wanted _Harry to find it. But why? What was the philosophers' stone?

"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. The only stone known to be made successfully was made by one Nicholas Flamel-" Harry frowned deeply.

"Flamel was once Dumbledore's teacher, they've worked together for years." Draco pointed out before laughing slightly. "Weasel wont get it though, I will." He said grinning. Harry frowned.

"Draco I think there might be more to this than what you think, this could be dangerous."

He warned but Draco would have none of it.

"That's why I'm borrowing this!" He said holding up Harry's invisibility cloak. Harry felt a thrill of anger rush through him but before he could do anything Draco was slipping the cloak on and exiting the common room. Harry Snarled his magic lashing out in his anger as he rushed towards the portrait only to be faced with an empty and silent corridor. How dare he! How _dare _he!

"Potter?" Malfoy's voice cut through him and he turned slowly his eyes glowing with magical rage as they lighted on Snape and Malfoy.

"Your _son_." He hissed. "Just _took _my invisibility cloak an _heirloom _from my father." He bit out. "I have half a mind to let him walk right into his death!" He snapped his magic sizzling out around him. He took a deep steadying breath and opened the portrait door.

"Crabb Goyle show Snape and Malfoy the notes!" He growled before turning around.

"Potter?" Snape called out.

"Not now Snape, I have to go save your idiot godson!" He sneered before breaking into a full run. He had an idea where Draco would be, actually he had an idea where everything would be and he didn't like that he was walking right into it. But he'd promised to keep Draco safe and if only for the small kindnesses Lucius and Narcissa had shown him he would do this. His feet ached as he ran through corridors and up several flights of stairs.

Curfew wasn't for another half an hour but it was already dark outside and the moment

Harry stepped into he third floor corridor he knew he'd stepped into the right place. The torches were out on this floor, only lit where Draco must have passed by moments previously allowing him to see the thick layer of dust and cobwebs that covered everything. Panting he approached a large wooden door where he could hear music playing softly. Quietly he pressed the door open just in time to watch Draco push aside a large paw. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the three headed monstrosity that lay sleeping lulled by the soft music being played by a harp in the corner. A creak drew his gaze back to Draco who was grinning at him as he slipped past the trap door.

"Draco you idiot." He hissed to himself. The music suddenly stopped and Harry had no choice but to rush forward and dive into the hole as the dogs began to awaken. For a moment he was flying in complete darkness half expecting to crash into the floor and break his neck but a moment later he landed with a thump on something far less damaging though he could tell that he'd bruised in several places.

"Um hi Harry?" Draco said from off to the side. Harry narrowed his eyes and gasped as something curled around his leg.

"What the-" He started only to be cut off as Draco let out a yelp.

"Er...I think it's a plant." Draco said lighting the tip of his wand. Sure enough they were surrounded by large thick vines that were beginning to wrap around them. Harry felt himself twitch slightly.

"Your father is going to kill you if I don't." he managed before pressing his lips together.

"Do you have any idea _what _plant this is?" He asked trying unsuccessfully to pull the vine off his leg.

"Wait my father is here?" Draco said his face falling. Harry smirked.

"Yup, ran into him before chasing after you." He said casting a severing charm at the vine only to have it regrow.

"He's going to kill me." Draco said sounding very afraid. Harry snorted.

"I doubt it." He said before casting a few more charms at the vines but to no avail. Finally with a frustrated hiss he cast a reducto at the center of the blasted thing making it explode violently. The vines wrapped around them loosened suddenly making them fall. Harry was nearly satisfied to note that Draco screamed like a girl. Harry winced as he sat up and glanced around the darkened room for Draco who was already standing up his silver eyes glinting at the sight of the tunnel-like passageway.

"Through here." Draco hissed beckoning him forward. Harry grunted as he stood certain that he would be black and blue by the next day.

"Draco lets just wait for your father and Snape?" He pleaded but Draco was already slipping down the passage way and Harry realized that he had no choice but to follow him. "Draco-" he started when he finally caught up to the blond but Draco held up a hand.

"Hear that?" He whispered. Sure enough a small clinking sound could be heard growing louder as they made their way down the shadowed passageway.

"Sounds like chains." Harry said with a frown. Really he didn't want to go any further, every step felt like he was walking closer and closer to a trap. Who's trap exactly was beyond him.

"Look a door!" Draco said before rushing forwards. Harry frowned at the torchlit doorway and noted that the clinking sounds seemed to be coming from behind it. Images of the troll catching that girl off guard had him rushing to keep up with Draco who was already pressing the door open. "Birds?" Draco said stepping into the room. Harry frowned and looked up at what appeared to be hundreds of glittering flapping birds zooming about. He frowned as one caught the light.

"Look again Draco, those aren't birds, their keys." Harry said looking around his eyes catching on the opposite door.

"Keys?" Draco said tilting his head to the side. "huh." Harry frowned and moved towards the broomsticks.

"I think we're supposed to catch one." he said glancing back at the door. Draco gaped at him.

"Catch one? There are hundreds of them Potter!" He hissed. Harry rolled his eyes and pointed at the lock.

"It's a big one, old fashioned and probably silver you see? It probably looks similar to the design on the door handle." He said pointing at the silver arches. Draco nodded.

"Alright." he said grabbing a broom. Harry let out a shout as the keys suddenly zoomed about faster some of them straight out _attacking _them. He gasped as his arm ripped open and blood poured out. Hissing he grabbed a broom and jumped on noting that Draco was too busy batting away at the keys to actually be looking for one. Harry ignored the pain though and focused on looking for what he needed to find. "There!" Draco hissed pointing up and to the right. "The one with the blue wings- one of them is damaged!" He bit out before batting at the keys. Harry's eyes darted around the room until he found the small damaged key and flew towards it grabbing it quickly.

"Hurry! Get to the door! He called out as the keys attacked in earnest. Draco shouted something out but Harry didn't hear it, instead he was flying towards the door stumbling to put the key into the key hole and unlock the door. Draco stumbled into him pushing them through and landing them in a heap of untidy limbs.

"Merlin that was wicked!" Draco said grinning. Harry growled and shoved the boy off him only to gape at the sight ahead of them. A giant chessboard surrounded by broken pieces sat between them and the next door.

"I don't suppose you know how to play?" Harry said glancing at Draco who looked at him as if he were the oddest thing he'd ever seen.

"You mean you don't?" he said in shock. Harry rolled his eyes and Draco shook his head.

"Mudbloods _don't _do much do they?" He asked putting his hands on his hips. "Remind me to teach you once we're out of here, every heir knows how to play chess." He said with a wave of his hand before taking his place on the board. "Right then, you stand _there_." Harry not knowing quite what was going on let Draco direct him and then the other pieces. It was quite brutal really, to watch the pieces destroy each other, and Harry was hardly sure much of the time just who was winning. Eventually though Draco howled in glee. "Check mate!" He hollered before climbing down from his spot and grabbing him.

"You mean we can't go back now? Oh silly me!" Harry said crossly as he was dragged through doorways. Harry was hit with an all too familiar smell and had to duck to the side to vomit as he caught sight of a very bloody very dead troll.

"Come on! Weasley's already gotten through!" Draco hissed pinching his nose. Harry twitched visibly before following; he highly doubted that Ron Weasley of all people had defeated a full grown mountain troll. Harry gasped when the doorway behind them was suddenly covered in flames- purple flames which meant that they were enchanted. Snape had shown him something like these once and Harry was nearly unsurprised to see countless vials, bottles goblets and glasses arrayed on several tables. Draco lifted a scroll and read aloud.

_(a/n I took the riddle directly from the book as well as a few lines so don't hate me this is my disclaimer!)_

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

Draco looked at it blankly for a moment before turning hopelessly towards Harry who sighed.

"You really want to do this don't you?" he muttered only to wince as he was faced with

Draco's wide pleading eyes. Harry sighed and shrugged. "Alright if you're sure." he said giving up. Draco would do what he wanted whether Harry helped or not, and it was probably best for him to help Draco rather than have him screw this up and drink a poison accidentally. Harry scanned the lines again. Thoughtfully he began walking in front of the rows and rows of bottles. His mind whirring as he went. He'd already figured out the riddle in truth, but...He glanced back at Draco. He knew for sure that whatever was on the other side of that door, it most certainly wasn't Ron Weasley. A memory of the shadowed figure came to mind and he shuddered.

"What? What is it?" Draco demanded petulantly. Harry swallowed thickly making up his mind. Slowly he pointed at the smallest bottle.

"I _think _that this is the bottle that will get us through the door." he said pressing his lips together. Draco moved forward and frowned.

"But that's _tiny _there's hardly a mouthful in it!" he said. Harry nodded his head.

"I have a theory...you see, I _could _be wrong and that could be a poison." He said dreading the lie as it passed his lips. Draco paled. "But if it is the potion we need than it should refill its self once one of us is through that door." Lie, he highly doubted that the potion would refill it's self, he knew that particular vial after having to clean so many of them.

He moved his hand towards another vial. "That one will get us back I'm sure of it what

I'm thinking is, what if _I _took the potion, if it _is _a poison you could get us back before I die, if not then you can drink the potion when it refills it's self." He said dropping his hand. Draco frowned and glanced back down at the parchment his eyes confused as he tried to puzzle it out.

"But...you could die." Draco said frowning deeply. Harry winced. He sure could if he was right about what was on the other side of that door.

"Yeah but if I let you take it and it _is _a poison your dad will kill me." he said dryly. Draco winced but slowly nodded. Harry grasped the vial in his hand and knocked it back with a single gulp. He hissed as his blood seemed to literally run cold and paused before opening the door. "Draco." he said quietly. Draco gazed at him in fear. "Tell your father that I think it's the shadow." he said before stepping through the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, sooo...I decided to post the last two chapters this week. One at the beginning of the week and one at the end of the week. I may also start posting two chapters a week for the second book mainly because I managed to sit down and write _twelve_ bleeding chapters non stop with very little in the way of a break this weak end. Don't ask me how or why I did it but suffice to say the story sort of poured out of my finger tips taking turns I hadn't quite expected it to just yet. Book three is actually almost complete now, there are a few chapters that I want to add and I am going to go back and change some things that I didn't like. I feel like the story is just sitting on my fingertips and begging to spill right now but I need to pace myself because things are going to get far more complex as the story goes on. At any rate I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh and very quickly, i know that some of you don't like that I put Author's notes in the story and I apologize for them, but honestly I'd rather not risk someone screaming plagiarism so forgive me and please ignore them.  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**PS. This chapter is actually very short thus the reason I'm posting _two_ chapters this week.  
><strong>

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 10_

_A Bargain_

Dark eyes met his as the door slammed shut behind him. Harry shivered slightly but stood his ground as he stared back. "Professor Quirrell." He greeted shuddering at the familiar dark chill he could feel, it was one he'd felt before...in the forbidden forest. "You were the shadow...in the forest that night." he said preparing himself. What was this man?

Obviously he was more than he appeared...

"Ah, I wondered if I would be meeting you here, no doubt that your killing that troll was more than a simple coincidence...spying were we?" The man said his voice smooth and calm not a stutter to be found. Harry felt his eyes widen. So it had been _him _that had let out the Troll. "Hmmm yes, you and Snape have been quite chummy haven't you? Was that it then? You take care of the Troll while he comes after me?" Harry frowned. So Snape had known...good that meant that the man probably knew who was down here.

"Who are you exactly?" Harry demanded wanting to stall for time. Quirrell frowned and flicked his wrist causing ropes to shoot out and wrap around his ankles and wrists tying him spread eagle in the air.

"You shall see," He said with a smirk before spinning on his heel. "Quiet now Potter you clever boy, I need to take a look at this mirror." he said turning away. It was only then that Harry noticed the mirror of Erised sitting in the center of the room.

"Snape's been following you for a while." Harry said gritting his teeth he had to keep the man occupied.

"Hush now boy of course he was he was on to me. He suspected me all along you see, tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side..."

Harry felt his heart thud to a halt as he stared blankly at Quirrell who was circling the mirror trailing his fingers along the edges.

Voldemort.

The man who had killed his parents.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he's in London... I'll be far away by the time he gets back..." Harry grit his teeth. The headmaster...he'd planned this all along hadn't he? Planned to use Harry to destroy Voldemort's lackey while he was away making it look like he had nothing to do with any of it. Anger filled him towards the headmaster, the man who was his guardian, the man who if he was right had intentionally sent Harry to live with the Dursley's. _Never_ trust an adult.

"The headmaster has us both backed into his plan." Harry said at last causing Quirrell to glance up at him and frown.

"What did you say boy?" he asked tilting his head to the side suspiciously. Harry frowned remembering all the times he had suffered at the hands of the Dursley's and how convenient it had been for the man to simply claim him when it suited his needs.

"I said that the headmaster planned this all out and we fell right into his hands." Harry said feeling wrung out. Quirrells eyes bulged slightly. "The headmaster has been giving me clues about this place all year, he's probably been doing the same to you. He wants us to fight, I don't know why exactly but I'd rather not, I didn't come here to fight you after all, I just got dragged down here." He said sneering slightly. The man stalked towards him his eyes glittering.

"You expect me to believe that?" he demanded a bit of spittle hitting Harry in the face.

Harry sighed and winced slightly as the ropes chafed his skin.

"Well, think about it, I'm here now and I literally just got back from the dragon colonies, if that isn't perfect timing I don't' know what is." He said shrugging slightly. "Think carefully Quirrell, all those bits of information that helped you find this place- were they really just pure luck?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side. He could see the man's mind working and suddenly the man let out a frustrated shout.

"Damn that man!" He hissed stomping his foot. Harry nodded.

"My sentiments exactly." he agreed knowing that he'd successfully managed to distract Quirrell. Suddenly though the man seized up in visible pain and bent forward.

"Master!" He hissed out clutching the sides of his head. Harry frowned.

"He's here?" he asked looking around. Quirrell's reddened face shot up to look at him.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil...

Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was! There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it... Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."

Harry stared at the man in horror, a closer watch...just what did that mean? He remembered that night in the forest, the shadow, in human, incomplete, sucking at the unicorn like some sort of- ...parasite. his gaze was drawn to Quirrells turban as the man cursed and stalked towards the mirror. Harry of course already knew how to get to the stone, Dumbledore had made certain of it, however...did Harry really want to keep Voldemort from getting the stone? If Voldemort returned to power there would be no way any one would let him return to the muggles, flimsy excuses about blood wards just wouldn't hold up. He could stay in the wizarding world where he was free to study, of course he would have to lay low but he didn't really want to be a part of Voldemort's war any way. He wanted to be better, stronger, greater, he wanted to be so strong that no one would dare hurt him!

"If Voldemort was really here do you know what I would like to say to him?" He asked catching Quirrells attention.

"Not really Potter no, after all I'm going to kill you when this is over." he said before returning to the mirror. Harry sighed.

"I would tell him that I don't know what happened all those years ago when he killed my parents but the truth is, they're dead and somehow he was destroyed- though obviously not completely. What happened, happened and I'm pretty sure he can figure out that it had very little to do with a one-year old. The people needed a hero though I guess, and I was made into a hero." He said quietly. "If Voldemort were really here I would like to tell him that I don't really want to fight him. I have enough to worry about and I'd rather not fall into the headmaster's role for me as a hero again." Quirrell looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

"What are you talking about Potter?" he demanded. Harry smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a Slytherin Quirrell, I'm nobodies hero surely you've figured _that _out by now?" he said tilting his head to the side.

"How would he know that you aren't lying?" he demanded. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Hello? Kinda tied up right now? Would I really be stupid enough to lie right now?" He asked. "Besides, I get more from being on his side than on the headmasters." Quirrell tilted his head to the side for a moment.

"What would you be getting?" He demanded. Harry sneered slightly.

"That's for me to know. But I'm willing to make a peace offering if Voldemort is willing to accept my reasoning and avoid actively coming after me." Quirrell tittered slightly at that.

"_You _what could _you _have to-ah!" he gasped suddenly in pain and clutched the sides of his head.

"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..." Harry felt as if his heart stopped as the soft voice whispered through the room.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell said his eyes watering.

"I have strength enough... for this..." Harry watched in horrified fascination as Quirrell turned around and began to unwind the turban.

"So I was right." Harry said nodding slowly as a warped face emerged from the skin.

"Potter, do you see what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own..." Harry nodded slowly and shoved away his fear. He had to be strong, if he could make a deal with the man then Voldemort would be less likely to attack him.

"My peace offering...is the stone" He said hesitantly. "I know how to get it for you if you'll accept your end of the bargain." He said feeling his pulse speed up. Voldemort's eyes narrowed and his thin lips twisted into a smile.

"My, my, you _are _a fine Slytherin aren't you? Making friends with the Malfoys and Snape...Working your way to the top hmm? Just seeing you trying to hide that your terrified- and quite well I might add, intrigues me.

Who is this boy that was born of two lions only to grow up a snake?

I can see in your eyes that you truly have no wish to fight me. The question is...what is it that you wish for then hmmm?" Voldemort chuckled and pulled back slightly. "Very well then, I accept your peace offering." he said holding out a hand. Harry stumbled slightly as he was released and rubbed at his wrists before making his way towards the mirror.

The secret he knew was realizing that he truly didn't need the philosopher's stone for himself, and he didn't. As tempting as it was to take the easy rout he wanted to become strong by his own hands not by some magical trinket. So, when he looked in the mirror and saw himself, older, wiser, stronger. The Harry in the mirror smiled at him held out the stone and dropped it into his pocket. Harry smiled back at the older version of himself before reaching into his pocket and holding out the stone offering it to Voldemort who smiled widely. "Very well Potter, you have yourself a bargain, I will not actively seek to fight you, after all I am quite interested to see what you will become." Voldemort said taking hold of the stone. Harry felt himself relax.

"Alright, you might want to leave though I have a feeling Snape and Malfoy are about to come bursting in at any minuet now." he said pointing towards the door. Actually they were a bit overdue but he couldn't complain when things had gone as smoothly as they had. Voldemort glanced towards the door and smirked.

"A back-up plan? Very good Potter." He said before reaching into his pocket.

"Fortunately I have one too. Farewell for now then Potter." He said before disappearing on the spot. Harry stared at the empty spot for a moment before smiling and turning around letting his fist fly through the air shattering the mirror with the impact.

He didn't need the mirror; he could become that Harry Potter without it.

Slowly he watched the torn flesh on his knuckles heal before walking back to the door and sitting down. He was really quite tired he realized as his eyes began to droop...

"Potter!" Harry cracked one eye open in annoyance. Really? He'd just closed them! Snape was rushing towards him wand out and ready as Malfoy surveyed the scene his grey eyes missing nothing. Draco stormed through his face pinched furiously.

"You tricked me!" he shouted as Harry stood up and brushed off his pants before reaching out and snatching his cloak from Draco's pocket.

"_You _took my cloak." he retorted before folding the material carefully.

"Potter what happened here?" Malfoy demanded. Harry shrugged.

"Not sure, it was like this when I got here, no Weasley, no shadow, nothing so I just sat down and waited since I wasn't sure I could make it back past the fire." He said idly.

"Now, if Draco is done with snatching my belongings and dragging me into pointless adventures I would like to get to bed, we have exams in two days" he said breezily. Malfoy and Snape traded looks but said nothing as they took one last look at the room before guiding them out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Last chapter of book one! I will warn you now if you don't know already that I will _not_ post any new chapters next week! I need a break really though I doubt I'll actually _take _one. I have book two completed and edited and starting the week _after_ next week I will begin posting _two_ chapters a week. My reason being that book three is actually not as long as I thought it would be and that I'm very nearly _done_ writing it (I hope) I will also warn you now though that Book two start's out with a rather disturbing scene- or two! If you have not bothered to read my warnings up until now I suggest that you read them now. As of right now I have entitled the next book Harry Potter Book two: Struggle I hope that you all enjoy it see you soon!  
><strong>

**Mistress Slytherin**

**PS. This chapter is actually very short thus the reason I'm posting _two_ chapters this week.  
><strong>

**T****here will eventually be homosexual situations:**

**consider this your warning,**

**If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea**

**Than I suggest you turn back now.**

**I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap**

**Now, for some additional warnings:**

**ABUSE**

**VIOLENCE**

**BAD LANGUAGE**

**HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS**

**Mistress Slytherin  
><strong>

_Chapter 11_

_A Year Ends_

Harry sighed despondently as he climbed onto the train.

Perhaps keeping to himself that Voldemort was returning wasn't the best idea after all.

The man was taking his time in returning that much was for sure. All through out the exams Harry had half expected the man to make an appearance somehow. In order to keep Draco out of trouble with the headmaster, he Malfoy and Snape had agreed to keep their personal journey down to the hidden chambers a secret. In retribution for having stolen Harry's cloak and sending them all on what was assumed to be a wild goose chase, Draco had spent the rest of his semester with Harry in the store rooms cleaning out disgusting smelly things that made him sick on numerous occasions. Along with that punishment came the clear warning that if he ever decided to do something so stupid again due to boredom he could be sure to find himself back in the potions stores with Harry- permanently. Honestly Harry thought that having Draco down with him was more work than anything, but if the threat kept Draco out of trouble he wasn't going to argue with it.

"Come on Harry Move!" Draco said sounding slightly crabby. Late nights in the potions stores most certainly did _not _agree with Draco's need for beauty sleep. Harry sighed slightly and climbed on the train with one last look up at Hogwarts. Luckily, even if he did have to return to the Dursley's Malfoy had told him that he would be sending people over so that he could visit Ash during the summer which hopefully would keep Petunia from doing anything...harmful towards him.

Harry climbed the last few steps and made his way to an empty compartment where Draco, Crabb and Goyle stepped into after him. Draco had been giving him pointed looks since the incident with the stone but then- so had every one else. Dumbledore obviously knew that he'd been down there and more than once he'd come up to find his trunk ransacked, though the headmaster never directly asked him. But then neither had Snape or Malfoy who obviously didn't believe his story but for some reason let him be, probably because they knew that the 'shadow' as he had been calling it would have killed Draco if he hadn't taken the potion instead. That was twice now he'd saved Draco's life, he supposed that he was entitled to a few secrets after saving Draco _twice_.

"Oh yeah." Goyle said a few minuets into the ride. "Professor Snape said to give these to you guys." he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few very wrinkled envelopes. Draco sneered at his for a moment before his face brightened considerably.

"Our exam results!" Draco said excitedly. "They're supposed to be owled to us within the first week of summer break, he must have gotten them early for us!" He said prying his open with enthusiasm. Crabb and Goyle winced and glanced at each other far less excited as they stuffed theirs in their pocket. Harry slid his open as well and took a deep breath before opening it. He grinned at it pride shining through. He had scored the highest points possible on all his exams. Along with his grades there was a letter.

_Dear Mister Potter, _

_Firstly, well done. It is not very often that Hogwarts receives a student as gifted and driven as yourself and I do not say that lightly. It is with great pleasure that I tell you that due to your obvious efforts your grades have shown that you are capable of continuing your next year at Hogwarts at a third-year level rather than a second-year, in fact all of your professors have recommended that you do so. I have already sent your letters of recommendation to the school board who will review your grades and decide whether or not the advancement should be accepted. I must also caution you however to continue studying over your summer break lest you find yourself in over your head._

_Professor Snape_

Harry grinned widely. "What?" Draco demanded leaning over to read his letter. "Huh? Third-year level? But that means we won't be in the same classes next year!" Draco said petulantly.

"We'll still be in the same dorms Draco it's not like we'll never see each other." Harry said still reeling from the _compliments _Snape had given him. Compliments! Him! He continued to smile as he tucked the letter back into the envelope carefully. Snape was right, he never gave compliments lightly and if he thought that Harry could continue on as a third-year he would be more than willing to do just that.

"But still you're always studying when you're not in class I swear they should have placed you in Ravenclaw!" Draco continued crossing his arms. Harry rolled his eyes.

"So what are you doing over the summer Draco?" He asked. Immediately Draco's petulance melted away and excitement took it's place.

"Mother is taking me to France-" And that was about all Harry heard before tuning his friend out, he'd already heard _all _about Draco's _fabulous _plans, but like always centering the conversation on Draco distracted the blond from any further pouting. For the remainder of the trip Harry simply stared out the window towards Hogwarts- towards _his_ world where people like _him _lived. He wanted so much to live with them, it was as if a part of him was missing that he should have had, all those things that normal wizarding children grew up around were still so new to him. Harry sighed and pressed his cheek against the window. The closer they got to Kings cross station, the heavier his heart felt and the further it seemed to sink inside of him.

He didn't want to go back.

All too soon though the train was letting out a shrill whistle announcing their arrival and Harry stepped off with the other children. He tried to ignore it, the people that surrounded him, the families racing to embrace each other, the parents smoothing down hair and patting wrinkles out of travel worn clothing. He'd seen it all before, watched in longing as others were petted and loved and adored while he was left behind. It still stung though.

"Mister Potter." Lucius Malfoy said drawing Harry from his daze. Harry tilted his head at the man as Draco rushed by him and embraced his parents causing even Lucius to lose a bit of his decorum for a moment and smirk down at his son. Harry's heart constricted in his chest and he looked away.

"Oh dear, and Harry how _are _you!" Narcissa said smiling widely. Harry couldn't help but smile slightly back even though there was a gaping distance between them.

"I'm well Lady Malfoy thank you." He said as always feeling slightly shy in her presence.

"Well you have a _wonderful _summer Harry and make sure to owl us if you need anything." She said pointedly. Harry nodded slowly. Even here he would always feel like an outsider wouldn't he?

"I will madam, have a pleasant summer." He said waving as they turned away.

"Bye Harry!" Draco said his face lit up with bright innocence. Harry nodded and watched them fade into the crowd his arm and smile falling like weights were attached to them.

Slowly he moved through the crowd and past the barrier that separated his world from the muggle world. He cringed the moment he stepped through. Shouting, rude, horrid people.

Rushing, bustling- these were the people that had tried to destroy magic. Magic was beautiful, he knew by experience, Merlin if only they could see! But, he knew by experience that Muggles only saw what they wanted to see. Harry sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets to block out the cold as he made his way to the clock where he was told to wait for his aunt. Upon seeing no one there he sat down on the bench and shrugged his shoulders to keep warm.

An hour came and went.

Two hours came...and went.

Three hours came, and went.

Four hours came and went.

By the five hour mark Harry knew for certain that no one was coming. He was chilled to the bone. Stiffly he stood and made his way to the curbside. It was getting dark but luckily he'd thought ahead and made sure to have muggle money on hand. As Harry Potter slipped into the seat of the dingy musty cab, there was only one thought he could think...

He was not a freak

He was special

He was better than them

The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything

Right was the opposite of what they said

**He deserved better than this!**

-_fin-_


	12. Chapter 12

The first chapter of Harry Potter Book 2: Struggle is out!

I will be posting the second chapter today! I hope that you all enjoy it!

Mistress Slytherin


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